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COPYRIGHT DEPOem 



PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



AMERICAN 

SOCIAL SCIENCE 

SERIES 

AMERICAN ECONOMIC LIFE, by Henry 
Reed Burch, Ph. D. 

A study of our economic problems from the 
civic and social point of view. 

AMERICAN SOCIAL PROBLEMS, by 
Henry Reed Burch and S. Howard Patterson. 

An introductory sociological study of Ameri- 
can civilization. 

PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOC- 
RACY, by Henry Reed Burch and S. Howard 
Patterson. 

A combined treatment of the political, eco- 
nomic, and social questions of the day. 



Problems of 
American Democracy 



POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, 
SOCIAL 



BY 

HENRY REED BURCH, Ph. D. 

AUTHOR OP AMERICAN ECONOMIC LIFE, ETC. 

SOMETIME FELLOW IN ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND COMMERCE 

WEST PHILADELPHIA HIGH SCHOOL FOR BOYS 

PHILADELPHIA 

AND 

S. HOWARD PATTERSON, A. M. 

CO-AUTHOR OF AMERICAN SOCIAL PROBLEMS 

WHARTON SCHOOL OF FINANCE AND COMMERCE 

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 

PHILADELPHIA 



New York 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1922 

All rights reserved 



Printed in United States of America 






Copyright, 1922 
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 



Set up and electrotyped. Published April, 1922. 



4PR -5 |922 



©CLA659465 
^0 t 



"Our faith in the 
future of the Republic 
is firm, because we 
believe that on the 
whole and in the 
long run our people 
think clearly and act 
rightly." 
— Theodore Roosevelt. 



PREFACE 

To the gradual crystallization of educational thought in 
favor of a general study of the social sciences in secondary 
institutions, this book owes its origin. The attempt has 
been made to acquaint the student with the bold outlines 
of the political, economic, and social development of Amer- 
ican institutions. The task involved presented so much 
freedom of choice that, naturally, opinion may differ as to 
the relative importance of the various materials available 
for this purpose. However, the aim has been to provide 
the student with typical material for a general introduc- 
tory course in problems of democracy, which not only 
stresses certain fundamental characteristics of our own 
civilization, but preserves at the same time a proper bal- 
ance between the political, the economic, and the social 
factors in American life. Furthermore, the topics selected 
have been treated as unified problems, each of which is dis- 
cussed from the standpoint of general social development, 
rather than subdivided into a series of separate, air-tight 
compartments labeled political, economic, and social. 

Since this volume presents a combined treatment of these 
three elements, it is intended primarily to meet the needs 
of those institutions in which opportunity is lacking for a 
detailed treatment of the social sciences individually. It 
follows the same method pursued in the companion books, 
American Economic Life and American Social Problems, 
and draws upon material contained therein. It marks, 



viii Preface 

moreover, the advent of a new movement in secondary 
education, to which the authors hope it makes a definite 
contribution. 

Philadelphia, Pa., March, 1922. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Cia^X, 



S^ 



XXVIII. 
^y XXIX. 



A Progressive Society 

The Influence of the Physical Envlronmen 

The Influence of the Social Environment 

Early Group Life 

The Evolution of the State . 

The Origin of the American State 

The Organization of Political Machinery 

The Political Machinery in Motion 

A Century of Political Evolution 

The Growth of Cities . 

Problems of the City 

Our Increasing Population 

Americans — Old and New 

The Problem of Immigration 

The American Race Problem 

Possibilities of Our Economic Envlronmen 

Conservation of Our Natural Resources 

The Industrial Revolution 

Modern Capitalistic Production . 

Modern Capitalistic Organization. 

The Regulation of Monopoly 

Government Control of Transportation 

Regulation of International Trade 

National Regulation of the Currency 

Meeting the Increased Cost of Government 

The Distrebution of the National Income 

Proposed Economic Reconstruction of 

State 

Problems of Organlzed Labor 

The Cooperation of Labor and Capital 



page 
i 

13 

24 

34 
46 

57 
70 
82 

95 
109 
127 
141 

157 

167 

179 

194 

208 

223 

236 

248— 

260' 

272 

286 

304 

317 

33° 

[E 
341 

357 
37i 



Table of Contents 



CHAPTER 

XXX. The Conservation of Labor . 

XXXI. Industrial Risks and Social Insurance 

XXXII. Standards of Living 

XXXIII. The Problem of Poverty 

XXXIV. The Organization of Charity 
XXXV. The Problem of Crime . 

XXXVI. The Treatment of the Criminal 

XXXVII. Defectives in Society 

XXXVIII. The Problem of the Modern Family 

XXXIX. Public Education- in a Democracy 

XL. The Widening Morality and Social Progress 

Appendix. Constitution of the United States 

Index 



PAGE 
387 
40I 

417 
429 

445 
464 

479 
499 
5i8 
543 
560 
576 
597 



PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN 
DEMOCRACY 

CHAPTER I 

A Progressive Society 

I. The problem stated 
i . Early writers 

2. A dynamic society : 

a. Meaning 

b. Examples of change 

3. The gains 

II. The nature of adjustment 

1. Maladjustments 

2. Need of adjustment 

3. Meaning of adjustment 

4. Principles of adjustment: 

a. Natural capacity 

b. Cooperation 

5. Progress and evolution 
III. The two factors 

1 . Some illustrations 

2. Influence of heredity : 

a. Physical traits 

b. Mental traits 

3. Importance of environment 

The Problem Stated. — Since the dawn of civilization 
man has sought an explanation of the physical and social 
world about him. The early literature of the ancients — 
the mythologies of the Chaldeans, the Greeks, and the Nor- 



2 Problems of American Democracy 

wegians — has several different explanations, each colored by 
the peculiarities of its particular environment. Furthermore 
Early local institutions and codes of law are frequently 

writers. explained in terms of some mythical lawgiver 
like the Spartan Lycurgus. Again, from the days of an- 
cient Israel is heard the story of oppression, and prophets 
of old lift up their voices against the evils of their day. 
Among the early Greeks, Plato imagined an ideal Republic 
in which the just man could live in happy security, while 
the drones worked, the soldiers policed, and the philosophers 
ruled. Toward the close of the Middle Ages, William 
Langland wrote the Vision of Piers Ploughman, an ideali- 
zation of the England of his day, in which all existing evils 
were righted. Each age has dreamed its own Utopia, 
which the march of the centuries has not brought to pass. 
This attempt of society, even if unsuccessful, to realize 
its ideal is a healthy sign of progress. Stagnation is the 
. fate of the land whose young men no longer 
society: dream dreams and whose old men have ceased 

Meaning. , • • » . ... r 

to see visions. A progressive society is one of 
ever advancing ideals of social justice as well as of con- 
stantly expanding material wants and increasing produc- 
tion. Thus, our Western civilization, in contrast to that 
of the Orient of a generation ago, may be described as a 
dynamic rather than a static society. China was one of 
the earliest nations to develop a civilization, and its culture 
is very ancient. Centuries ago, however, its social habits 
of thought crystallized into fixed and unchanging institu- 
tions. A certain adjustment to the physical and social 
environment had been reached and further change ceased. 
Western nations, hitherto inferior in culture, forged ahead 
by progressive inventions and changing habits of thought. 



A Progressive Society 3 

Many kinds of change in a dynamic society will imme- 
diately suggest themselves. To the student of society the 
most important developments to be traced are the social, 
the political, and the economic. An interesting political 
evolution is that from despotism to democracy, from 
"Divine Right" to Constitutionalism. An Examples 
equally important development is the series of oi change - 
economic changes which we call the Industrial Revolution, 
in which the handicraft stage was succeeded by the age 
of machinery and capitalistic production. Migrations, 
resulting in the mixing of different races, serve as an illustra- 
tion of a social change. In a dynamic society political, 
social, and economic changes are constantly synchronous 
and are mutually interdependent. In all three respects 
America is an excellent illustration of a dynamic society. 

Although much remains to be accomplished, society has 
already made many progressive changes or adjustments. 
Serfdom and slavery have been abolished, and 

, , ., , . The gains. 

no longer do men toil so incessantly as when 
conditions of life were precarious. Primitive man lived 
from hand to mouth without any accumulation of surplus 
wealth. Since the Industrial Revolution, however, pro- 
duction has so increased that goods formerly regarded as 
luxuries are now consumed by all. Ships from all parts of 
the world bring to the poor man's table commodities which 
princes of old could not have purchased. The dream of 
Roger Bacon has come true; inventions have not only 
lightened the burden of labor but they have resulted in 
more leisure time for the worker. The wealth of our natural 
resources is so abundant that exploittion is no longer neces- 
sary. Higher ideals prevail and public opinion will no longer 
tolerate what was once regarded as necessary and moral. 



4 Problems of American Democracy 

The Nature of Adjustment. — Maladjustment may be 
defined as the failure of society to adjust itself properly to 
Maiad- great changes wrought during a lapse of time, 
justments. These changes are characteristic not only of 
human society but also of inanimate nature. For example, 




Nature's Adjustment — Niagara Falls 

with the passage of centuries, the earth's crust was slowly 
lifted up and a mountain barrier formed across the path of 
a stream. Equally slowly and steadily, however, the 
stream proceeded to cut a newer and a lower river bed for 
its passage to the sea. Witness the unconscious adjust- 
ment in the physical environment at the Delaware Water 
Gap. Social maladjustments are similar obstacles in the 
path of society, boulders through which the stream of 
progress must cut. In a country like China, where the 
force of tradition is potent, these maladjustments are 
explicable. It is not difficult to understand why, in spite of 
rich natural resources, the specter of poverty stalks through 



A Progressive Society 5 

the land and the death rate rises to enormous proportions. 
The ways of the fathers interfere with the utilization of 
the physical environment. In the United States, however, 
there is little justification for maladjustment. America is 
a new country, full of modern ideas and untrammeled by 
ages of tradition. It is rather startling therefore to find, 
in a land of popular education and democratic ideals, a 
society that fails to change the environment of law and 
custom in order to meet the new conditions of the world 
of to-day. 

The Industrial Revolution, culminating in the factory 
system and in large scale production, transformed our 
economic life and made social adjustment neces- 
sary. In the present age, therefore, a number adjust- 

. ment. 

of unsettled problems of an economic and social 
character have survived the transformation of our industrial 
environment. Housing and health conditions do not con- 
form to scientific knowledge and present ideals. In a land 
of riches, poverty still exists, and women and children labor 
for long hours in unhealthy factories. Men are still sub- 
jected to risks in the dangerous trades, while every year 
human lives are sacrificed in industrial accidents. Friction 
between labor and capital results in strikes and lockouts and 
from such industrial conflicts society suffers. In view of all 
these circumstances the need of social adjustment is evident. 
Adjustment consists of the removal by society of appar- 
ent obstacles in the path of progress. These obstacles come 
down to us from the past in the form of customs, __ 

r Meaning of 

laws, fixed ideas, and methods of living. They adjust- 
ment, 
have been suited to an older environment — 

either physical or social — but are out of harmony with 

present conditions. Society must therefore change these 



6 Problems of American Democracy 

fixed ideas and institutions so that to-day the life of man 
may reach its full fruition. For example, the traditions of 
hard continuous toil, of inadequate wages, of bad housing 
conditions, and of unhealthy working surroundings have 
come down to us from an age when such ideas were an out- 
growth of meagre physical resources or lack of scientific 
knowledge. But to-day, in normal times, an eight-hour 
day, high wages, and good working conditions are easily 
attainable. Society, therefore, must change from the old 
to the new regime. 

All life is a process of adjustment. We find it at work in 
the physical world, in organic life, and in society. In the 
Principles physical world the process is unconscious. But 
of adjust- when society seeks to change environing social 
Natural conditions in order to meet the needs of man's 
capaci y. p re sent life, it proceeds on two principles. First, 
it acts on the theory that man himself is capable of 
improvement and not always bound and fettered by laws of 
physical and mental inheritance. While recognizing, of 
course, the existence of certain inherited physical and 
mental handicaps, society, in working out the process of 
adjustment, proceeds on the principle that the vast major- 
ity of mankind is inherently capable of progress. In 
other words, man's future is not regarded as always 
determined by his biological past. The son of a pauper 
may have in him the germs of greatness as much as the 
child of the millionaire. 

In the second place, the process of adjustment is accom- 
plished through the principle of cooperation. Individuals, 
working together, must accomplish the changes 

Cooperation. ..... , 

in the social environment necessary to man s 
freedom and development. Compared to the organized 



A Progressive Society 7 

forces of society individual efforts are powerless. Never 
will great changes be wrought in the social order until the 
doctrine of unshackled individualism is recognized as 
belonging to the past age which gave it birth. 

It will be seen that all change is not necessarily progress. 
Evolution may travel in a circle, and it may go backward 
as well as forward. Progress is conscious evolu- _, 

# Progress 

tion, that is, purposive changes directed toward and 

some clearly visualized ends. Man is strongly 
influenced by his environment, as will presently be shown, 
but, unlike the lower forms of life, he in turn can influence 
and partially change his environment. The various fauna 
and flora of different continents can only be explained in 
terms of differences in environment. Wheat will not grow 
in the tropics nor coffee in the Arctic regions. It was 
formerly thought that the white man could not live in the 
tropics, but through the recent sanitation program, which 
has been carried out in the Panama Canal Zone, and which 
reads like a romance of science, the tropics have been con- 
quered and made safe for the civilization of the nations of 
the temperate zones. Irrigation projects and railway con- 
structions, which cross over or tunnel through gigantic 
mountains, are additional examples of man's conquest of 
nature. By man's conquest of nature we do not mean 
that he has succeeded, like Ajax defying the lightning, in 
breaking any of the laws of nature, but rather that he has 
come to understand these laws and to use them construct- 
ively instead of letting them spend themselves in some 
destructive fashion. The discovery and utilization of fire 
is an illustration of the sort of conscious adaptation which 
marks man off from the lower animals. Centuries ago in 
the Great Glacial Period northern Europe and America were 



8 Problems of American Democracy 

held in the grip of a great ice sheet. When the ice finally 
retreated many of the older forms of life had become 




Man's Adjustment — Roosevelt Dam 

extinct. These species had been unable to adapt themselves 
to the new conditions. Man survived and earned for him- 
self the name of the adaptable creature. Evolution is the 
story of unconscious adaptation or extinction. Progress is 
the record of conscious adaptation to avoid extinction. It 
took centuries of evolution to develop the woolly rhi- 
noceros, a creature suited to the Glacial Age. By his 
superior cunning, man slew this animal and dressed him- 
self in its warm skin. 



A Progressive Society 9 

The Two Factors. — American society, we have seen, is 

dynamic. Consequently, the problem of adjustment, like 

Tennyson's brook, must go on forever. Each 

age has its own set of problems. For an ade- illustra- 
tions. 
quate study of these problems the factors of 

heredity and environment must be carefully considered. 
These are the two currents of social science. For example, 
the heredity of our American society is European, not 
Asiatic. Had it been the latter the development of our 
political institutions would probably have taken a different 
course. Again, environment played its part in American 
history. Suppose the Appalachian mountains had not run 
north and south but instead, east and west, along what we 
call the Mason and Dixon Line, — would the Union have 
survived the period of sectionalism? The two factors of 
heredity and environment may be illustrated again in the 
problem of crime. Is a given individual behind prison bars 
a criminal because of a bad heredity, such as feeble-minded- 
ness, or because of an unfortunate social environment, like 
that of Oliver Twist in the story by Charles Dickens? 

It is a common biological fact that like begets like and 
that the offspring resemble the parents in spite of indi- 
vidual variations. This is the factor in evolu- 
tion which insures the persistence of racial f heredity. 
traits. For example, a swarthy skin is char- Physical 

. . treats. 

acteristic of tropical races just as blue eyes 
characterize northern peoples. In the struggle for exist- 
ence, heredity tends to preserve those variations which 
have been shown to be favorable to a particular environ- 
ment. The unfavorable variations tend to be eliminated, 
and thus are not perpetuated. In the course of many cen- 
turies, the favorable variations tend to become the only 



io Problems of American Democracy 

surviving types. Not all traits, however, are transmissible. 
Acquired characteristics are those achieved in the lifetime 
of the individual and, since they are not inherent, they are 
not usually transmissible. Just as the son of a one-armed 
man will be born with two arms, so the strong biceps of 
the blacksmith will not necessarily be inherited. Weak 
eyes may be inherited but not the blindness caused by 
some explosion. Tuberculosis is a disease caused by a 
bacillus, and it is not inherited, as are the weak lungs which 
make possible the attacks of this disease. 

This distinction between acquired and inherent traits 
applies to mental as well as to physical characteristics. For 
Mental example, the problem of the feeble-minded in 

society is a grave one because feeble-mindedness 
is an inherent trait and will be passed on from generation 
to generation so long as feeble-minded people propagate, 
in spite of all the education we can give these unfortunate 
persons. Here the problem is not so much one of environ- 
ment as of heredity. A progressive society is seeking con- 
stantly and consciously to improve its biological heredity 
by the gradual elimination of degenerate strains. The non- 
transmissible character of acquired traits permits, to a 
certain extent, each generation to stand upon its own feet. 
Although this principle means that the culture of the ages 
must be learned over and over again by each succeeding 
generation, it offers hope to those groups that are victims 
of an unfortunate environment. By this law society has 
been prevented from retrograding and "the submerged 
tenth" in slum environments has not given birth to pro- 
gressively inferior offspring. 

The relative importance of heredity and environment 
has been frequently discussed, but with little unanimity of 



A Progressive Society 1 1 

judgment. One might just as well seek to compare the 
importance of two such essentials as air and water. 
Recently, however, students of society have been 
emphasizing the importance of environment, t^ce'of 
This is largely a reaction against the older aristo- men™ n ~ 
cratic point of view, which overemphasized the 
importance of birth. The new movement began with the 
publication of the works of Lester F. Ward, the pioneer 
American sociologist. He pleaded for the democratization 
of knowledge, and believed human ability to be widespread. 
Genius is rare but crops out in humble and unexpected 
places. It is not necessarily the product of " Norman 
blood." Indeed, recent investigation has shown that some 
so-called "blue" blood does not represent the best biologi- 
cal heredity. The importance of heredity as a factor is not 
discounted, but rather the assumption of biological super- 
iority upon the part of certain races, classes, and families. 
We shall see that the term environment is used in two 
senses and may mean either the physical or the social 
environment. The next two chapters will discuss in turn 
the effects of each upon man and society. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

i. Tell of some of the ancients who wrote concerning the social 
problems of their day. Are there many similarities between ancient 
and modern social problems? 

2. Who were some of the pioneer writers in the social sciences? 
What did each contribute? 

3. What do you understand by the "social sciences"? How do 
they differ from the natural sciences such as physics and chemistry? 

4. What is the fundamental trio among the social sciences? 
Can these subjects be easily separated? Give reasons. 

5. Do you expect this course to give you a definite solution for 
each social problem studied? Why or why not? 



12 Problems of American Democracy 

6. What do you understand by a dynamic society? How does 
it differ from a static society? 

7. In what ways is America a good example of a dynamic society? 

8. Do you believe that the world is getting better? What are 
you taking as good tests for social progress? 

9. Compare evolution with progress. 

10. Explain the meaning and operation of adjustment in society. 

11. What are social maladjustments? Illustrate. 

12. Show how man and nature mutually affect each other. 

13. What traits are hereditary? Illustrate. 

14. How has this law of heredity helped or hindered the progress 
of society? 

15. Show how heredity and environment are the foundation stones 
upon which to build a study of social problems. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Plato's ideal republic. 

2. More's Utopia or Langland's Vision of Piers Ploughman. 

3. America, the dynamic society. 

4. The social surplus. 

5. Man's conquest of nature. 

6. Non-transmissible character of acquired characteristics. 

REFERENCES 

Chapin, F. S. Social Evolution. 
CoNKLiN, E. G. Heredity and Environment. 
Kelsey, Carl. Physical Basis of Society. 
Nearing, Scott. Social Adjustment. 
Patten, S. N. New Basis of Civilization. 
Ross, E. A. The Changing Chinese. 
Ross, E. A. Sin and Society. 



CHAPTER II 

The Influence of the Physical Environment 

I. Importance of the physical environment 
i. Meaning 
2. Examples 
II. Effects of physiography 

i. Resources and occupations 

2. Accessibility 

3. Isolation 

4. Form of government 

5. Other social institutions 

6. Cultural and religious ideas 
III. Climatic influences 

1. Temperature 

2. Rainfall 

3. Weather 

4. The conclusion 

Importance of the Physical Environment. — By the 

influence of physical environment we mean the effect of 
nature upon man. The biologist could not un- 

Meaning. 

derstand the desert cactus or the polar bear 
without some knowledge of the peculiar environment of 
each. Similarly the student of society must know the 
tropical African background of the American negro in 
order to understand some of his present characteristics. 
Civilized man himself was originally a product of his 
physical environment. Some particular favorable element 



14 Problems of American Democracy 

in nature gave the Egyptians or the Greeks an advantage 
over less favorably situated peoples. Favorable climatic 
conditions or abundant natural resources react upon the 
development of civilization. Although man may sometimes 
dominate his physical environment, modern as well as ancient 
civilizations are largely influenced by natural conditions. 
There is a custom among the Eskimos of putting to 
death their old and infirm parents. This illustrates the 
social effect of the physical environment which 

Examples. ........ a • t i 

is found in the rigorous Arctic climate where it 
is difficult to procure a living. Again, the Scandinavian 
immigrant, unaccustomed to the moderate climate found 
along the eastern coast of the United States, prefers the 
colder Northwest to which he can adapt himself. On the 
other hand, the negroes who migrate northward are not 
adapted to such a climate and would tend to die off in our 
northern states were their ranks not recruited by fresh 
levies from the South. Professor Boaz, after a series of 
experiments in which he measured the skulls of immigrants 
and those of their children, put forth, perhaps without 
sufficient proof, the theory that the effect of the new 
American environment can be seen in a physical change in 
the shape of the head due probably to a diet of softer food. 
If this be true, it is very significant, for length and breadth 
of skull are supposed to be the most permanent of physical 
characteristics. 

Effects of Physiography. — Natural resources include 
soil, mountains, rivers, minerals, animals, and plants. The 

great river valleys of the Nile, the Euphrates, 

Resources ° J ' < x 

and occu- and the Ganges were sufficiently fertile to sup- 
port a teeming population and thus became the 
cradles of civilization. The possession of forest lands rich 



The Influence of the Physical Environment 15 

in timber for ship building, as well as proximity to the sea, 
made the Phoenicians great mariners. The occupations of 
a people are largely determined by natural environment. 
In one region men are fishermen, in another herdsmen, and 
in still another farmers. Each occupation develops its own 
type of culture. The story of ancient history is a record of 
the incursions of the warlike herdsmen upon the more 
peaceful and more highly civilized agriculturists of the 
plains below. Thus the invasion of Egypt by the Hyksos, 
or shepherd kings, lowered the civilization of that region. 
In ancient Greece there came into conflict the interests of 
the men of the shore (merchants), the men of the hills 
(shepherds), and the men of the plains (farmers). The 
location of a source of motive power is also important. The 
invention of the steam-engine placed the factories of Eng- 
land in the north where the great coal fields were located. 
Thus the centre of population was gradually shifted from 
the south of England to the north. This principle makes 
us wonder what effect the development of China's resources 
will have upon oriental civilizations. 

Rivers and bodies of water are the routes of war, of 
trade, and of civilization. The open door into central 
Europe was through the river valley of the Accessi- 
Danube, and up these plains swept successive y " 
waves of invasion. The present race mixture in the old 
empire of Austria-Hungary is the modern result of these 
invasions. Down the Rhine floated the civilization of the 
Christian monks. Later, this river became the trade 
route for the medieval commerce of the Hanseatic cities. 
Palestine was the highway for invading armies between 
Egypt and Persia. Its accessibility caused its repeated 
conquest by successive empires. Thus, because of fear of 



1 6 Problems of American Democracy 

absorption, the people of this land have clung tenaciously 
to their national characteristics. Another result of accessi- 
bility may be seen in Greece. This small peninsula has the 
greatest sea-coast of any country of similar size. Thus no 
point was far from the sea and the people became a mari- 
time nation. They not only had access to the earlier, 
oriental civilizations, such as the Egyptian, but were also 
able to spread their own culture throughout the Mediter- 
ranean world. 

Rivers and seas, however, may also serve an opposite 

purpose and act as barriers to invasion. Thus England has 

often been saved from continental invasion be- 

Isolation. . . 

cause of its insularity. Witness the Spanish 
Armada and the futile attempt of Napoleon to conquer 
England. Mountain ranges are also great barriers. The 
Alps have been an obstacle to invading armies from 
Hannibal to Napoleon. Note how the physical map of 
Europe frequently coincides with the political, and how 
often mountains and rivers form the boundary lines of 
states. The general result of geographical inaccessibility 
is not only to prevent the disastrous invasions of barbarian 
peoples, but also to hinder the peaceful spread of a higher 
civilization and of a foreign culture. In mountain-walled 
Thibet the group culture has become stagnant because of 
lack of intercourse with the outside world. The Scotch- 
Irish settlers of our early American history were among 
the most energetic and progressive of pioneers. How then 
can we explain the present backward condition of some of 
their descendants, whom we designate as the poor whites 
of the southern mountains? The solution of the problem 
is found in the new environment. Shut in by the sur- 
rounding mountains, they have isolated themselves from 



The Influence of the Physical Environment 1 7 

the culture about them, and the most primitive conditions 
prevail. Again, the climate, or rather the peculiar local 
environmental disease known as hook worm, has sapped 
their vitality and produced a peculiar type of laziness. 

The people of an inaccessible land feel little need for the 
protection afforded by strong government. Love of liberty, 
with perhaps a certain degree of lawlessness, 
seems to go along with a mountain environment, govern- 

. , ment. 

as illustrated by the Scotch Highlanders and 
Balkan patriots. Democracy is the spirit of the mountains 
and aristocracy that of the plains. Compare democratic 
Switzerland's initiative and referendum with the Junker 
party of agricultural East Prussia. Again, democracy 
seems to be fostered by the growth of commerce. Great 
plains may become the seats of successive empires as in 
Asia, but a land broken up by sea or mountain develops the 
political ideal of the city state of the Greeks and early 
Romans. 

Other social institutions besides the State are affected by 
geographical environment. For example, certain environ- 
ments favor the pastoral life which develops a 
patriarchal society. Here child-bearing is the social in- 

i . , , , stitutions. 

great duty and polygynous marriage becomes 
an accepted institution. In a rigorous and barren environ- 
ment it is difficult to support many children, with the result 
that the polyandrous family flourishes. Again, let us 
note the history of slavery in our own country. Negro 
slaves were to be found in all of the thirteen original 
colonies. Natural conditions in the North made the 
institution unprofitable, and legislative abolition voiced 
the popular feeling. In the South, however., where 
agriculture was the leading industry and where plan- 



1 8 Problems of American Democracy 

tation life suited the local environment, slavery grew 
and flourished. A great civil war was necessary to 
decide whether a nation thus divided could endure. 




The Semi-Tropical Coast of Florida 

The national character of a people is also affected by its 
geographical environment. The awe inspiring aspects of 
nature in India, as revealed by the enormous 
an d mountain masses of the Himalayas, the ravages 

ideas? 113 °f the hurricane, of the tempest, and of the 
earthquake, as well as the fierce beasts and 
snakes of the jungle, inspire the inhabitants of that land 
with the feeling of fear and reverence rather than that of 
inquiry. Hence the religious spirit of that environment is 
depressing and awesome. Tradition is hard to break, as 



The Influence of the Physical Environment 19 

the British government has found in its dealings with the 
natives. Greece, on the contrary, lacks the terrifying 
aspects of nature, and mountains and lakes merely give 
variety, beauty, and suggestion to the landscape. It is 
difficult to imagine Athenian culture growing up any- 
where but in its native geographical environment. The 
founders of the great monotheistic religions of the world — 
Zoroaster, Moses, Christ, and Mohammed — belonged to the 
semi-tropical and desert zones. Here the thinker is im- 
pressed with the oneness of nature, by the vast expanse of 
land and sea and sky. On the other hand, a people dwell- 
ing in a more varied environment of forest, stream, and hill 
tend toward polytheism. Trees are the homes of spirits 
and satyrs, while streams become peopled with nymphs and 
mermaids. 

Climatic Influences. — Physical environment sets cli- 
matic limitations to human habitation. Life in the Arctic 
regions is hard, and natural selection plays havoc Tempera- 
among fur hunters and gold seekers. Until ture " 
recent times the tropics have been fatal to the white man; 
but a scientific knowledge of the causes of disease and of 
methods of sanitation, as illustrated in the work of the 
Panama Canal Zone, is making possible a Caucasian con- 
quest of the tropics. At the present time, however, the 
temperate latitudes seem most favorable to the develop- 
ment of an advanced civilization. The heat belt, which 
was the seat of many ancient cultures, has contributed 
little to human advancement in the last thousand years. 
That civilization has advanced from the south to the 
north, as much as from the east to the west, is seen 
in the successive rise of empires from ancient Egypt to 
modern Britain. As man has become more civilized, he 



20 



Problems of American Democracy 



has been able to cope with a colder and moister climate. 
A moderate rainfall is just as important as a temperate 

climate. Too heavy a precipitation is favorable only to 
tropical forest and swamp. Too slight a rain- 
fall means aridity, and the pastoral industry is 

the one most possible because grass is the chief kind of 

vegetation. That population is scanty in dry regions may 



Rainfall. 




The Bleak Coast of Maine 



be seen by a comparison of two maps, the one showing the 
distribution of rainfall and the other of population. Com- 
pare the population of our western states with that along 
either coast, or the population of Arabia with that of India. 
There is an interesting explanation of the historical move- 
ments of peoples into Europe. According to this theory, 



The Influence of the Physical Environment 2 1 

the original home of the Aryan race, having dried up be- 
cause of climatic changes, was no longer capable of sup- 
porting so large a population. Hence the various waves of 
migration and invasion which swept from the grass lands 
of western Asia into Europe. 

Local and temporary climatic changes are called the 
weather. Clear cool weather is invigorating, while damp- 
ness and high humidity are both depressing and The 
enervating. These effects are revealed by vary- weat er ' 
ing degrees of efficiency among employees and by the 
conduct of school children. Dry windy weather stimulates 
the nervous system and vitalizes human energy. This often 
finds expression in increased efficiency or in greater freedom 
of movement. The effect of the change of seasons may also 
be seen in the records of crime. Crime against property, 
like burglary, increases in winter, while crime against per- 
son, like murder, increases in spring and summer. 

From this discussion it must be evident that an under- 
standing of social movements is conditioned upon a knowl- 
edge of physical environment. This environ- The con- 
ment is continually manifesting itself in various clusion - 
phases of social development. Its influence is felt in the 
economic, the political, and the social currents of American 
life. For example, the economic greatness of America is 
the direct outcome of its almost boundless resources and 
its great variety of climate and temperature. Again, the 
political unity of American society is largely the result of 
its broad prairie lands and the prevailing trend of its 
mountain systems. Had its mountains extended directly 
from east to west, it is doubtful whether one civilization 
could have prevailed over sectional differences. On the 
social side, America's liberal ideas in various fields of 



22 Problems of American Democracy 

activity are largely the result of the great sweep of the 
continent, of the accessibility of its shores, and of the ease 
with which new ideas are disseminated throughout the land. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

i. Show how some plants and animals are adapted to their 
physical environment. 

2. Give some illustrations of the effect of natural resources upon 
the occupations and life of a people. 

3. What is the effect of rivers in opening up a country? 

4. Give original illustrations from American history of this 
principle. 

5. Illustrate the effect on civilization of nearness to the sea. 

6. Name in order of importance several natural barriers. 

7. Name a good and a bad result of natural geographical isolation. 
Illustrate your answer. 

8. Name and illustrate the various ways that physical environ- 
ment may affect the form of government. 

9. How are social institutions affected by natural conditions? 

10. Explain the theory of the effect of natural environment upon 
the cultural and religious ideas of a race. 

11. Can you think of any objection to the above theory? 

12. What are the two natural elements in climate? State the 
effects of each. 

13. How do you explain the fact that the earliest civilizations 
were in warm countries and the modern great nations in temperate 
lands? 

14. How does rainfall affect density of population? 

15. What theory accounts for migrations such as that which led 
to the overthrow of the Roman Empire? 

16. Illustrate from your own experience the effects of the weather. 

17. Sum up the influence of nature upon American civilization. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The fertile river valleys of the Nile and Euphrates. 

2. The Rhine and Danube rivers as waterways for invasion, 
civilization, and commerce. 



The Influence of the Physical Environment 23 

3. Effects of the insularity of England. 

4. The Alps and the history of Italy. 

5. The Allegheny Mountains as an early barrier to civilization. 

6. Climatic influences upon crime. 

7. The conquest of the tropics by medical science. 

REFERENCES 

Chapin, F. S. Social Evolution. Chapter V. 

Dexter, E. G. Weather Influences. 

Hayes, E. C. Introduction to a Study of Sociology. Chapter III. 

Huntington, E. Pulse of Asia. Civilization and Climate. 

Kelsey, C. Physical Basis of Society. Chapter I. 

Semple, E. Influences of Geographical Environment. 

Thomas, W. I. Source Book for Social Origins. Part I. 



CHAPTER III 

The Influence op the Social Environment 

I. The burden of tradition 
i. The social environment 

2. Origin of folkways 

3. Some survivals 

4. Varying customs 

5. The widening circle : 

a. Through conquest 

b. Through revolution 
II. Other social forces 

1. Imitation 

2. Fashion 

III. How the crowd acts 

1. Influence of suggestion 

2. Characteristics of the crowd 

3. Importance of social control 

4. America's position 

The Burden of Tradition. — The atmosphere of custom 

into which every child is born is fully as important as the 

. physical environment of which we spoke in the 

x n6 Social 

environ- preceding chapter. The social environment sur- 

merit. 

rounds us as completely as the physical. In our 
study of social phenomena, we must take into consideration 
not only the influence of nature, but also that of our fellow 
men, both in the past and in the present. Tradition 
envelopes us like a cloud, unconsciously determining for us 
almost everything we do, from the language we speak to 
the dress we wear. Individuality is limited and represents 

24 



The Influence of the Social Environment 25 

but a slight variation from the customs of the group. We 
take almost everything as we find it and accept the group 
traditions from democracy to base-ball. We regard other 
social systems as inferior to our own, just as their followers 
look upon ours in the same light. Thus, the Japanese, who 
place the duty of the son to the father on a higher plane 
than his duty to his wife, regard their moral codes as 
superior to our moral and religious systems. As the child 
learns the mother tongue, so he imbibes the customs and 
moral ideas of the group, regarding them finally as his own. 
The individual mind is but a part of the group mind. 

Because custom plays such an important part in group 
life, it is well to inquire into its origin. After long and crude 
experimentation, primitive man arrived at a origin of 
useful invention or a successful method of doing ° ways ' 
a thing. This particular method was imitated by the rest 
of the group and, unconsciously or consciously, became the 
customary method or folkway. After centuries of uniform 
action, the constant repetition of this particular method 
made it as binding upon the group as habit is upon the 
individual. For illustration, a way of building a canoe was 
hit upon by some individual and followed by the rest of 
the group. It satisfied a social want and for a long time no 
further discoveries in boat building were made. That par- 
ticular type of canoe became the model for the group, and 
other types were regarded with suspicion. Thus, the group 
tends to develop certain customary ways of doing things 
which become fixed and binding upon all the individuals in 
the group. In this manner loyalty to the group is judged 
by conformity to its customs and traditions. Innovations 
are frowned upon and further progress hampered, until 
the group civilization becomes static or even stagnant. 



26 Problems of American Democracy 

Again, folkways often originate from false inferences. An 
Eskimo, who happened to have the bone of a dog with him 
upon the hunt, was successful in an undertaking. Primi- 
tive man does not reason logically, but draws a conclusion 
by the most direct inference. Hence, in his mind, the hunt 
was successful because the hunter had carried with him a 
dog's bone. Others imitated, a custom grew up, and be- 
came a folkway among these people. 

This is comparable to the ignorant man of to-day, who 
ascribes luck to a horse shoe or to a rabbit's foot. Indeed, 
Some the source of most of our modern superstitions 

survivals. g Qes j-^^ ^ a De ii e f in spirits and to the folk- 
ways of our untutored ancestors. Hallowe'en is a night of 
frolic and pleasure, but the origin of this holiday was the 
serious business of appeasing the evil spirits according to 
the charms and rituals prescribed by the folkways of the 
group. If asked the reason for any particular ceremony or 
procedure, the answer was: "Our fathers did this before 
us." Fear of the displeasure of dead ancestors was suffi- 
cient to prevent any innovation. The scope of the folk- 
ways ranges from the regulation way of making a fire to 
the tribal laws of royal succession. No study of a society 
would be complete without some mention of them because 
they reflect the life and thought of the group as well as the 
influence of environment. Tradition is an important and 
significant phase of the social or group mind crystallized 
into what Bagehot calls "a cake of custom." 

Each group thinks its own folkways right and laughs at 

the customs of the foreigner. We think it impolite to 

Varying make a noise while eating, but the Indian would 

deem it a slight to his host not to smack his lips 

as a sign that the meal had been enjoyed. The Christian 



The Influence of the Social Environment 27 

takes off his hat in church, but the Mohammedan his shoes. 
Our moral ideas are, strictly speaking, not our own, but 
rather those of the group in which we live. We look with 
horror upon the Eskimos whom we have described as killing 
their aged parents, but they regard such action as a serious 
moral duty when old and infirm people become a burden to 
the group. We have been taught toleration and sympathy, 
but had we lived some centuries ago, we should have 
rejoiced at the burning of heretics and thought that 
such sacrifices pleased God. 

Each group, therefore, has its own collection of folkways 
and moral ideas which it believes to be the best and the 
truest. Thus the "cake of custom" is hard to 
break. It may be done, however, by forces from ing circle : 
within or by forces from without, by internal Throu s h 

J ' J conquest. 

revolution or by foreign conquest. In other 
words, tradition may be broken by changes in environment. 
In the past the method of conquest has been the more com- 
mon. Each group cherishes its own folkways so highly as 
to be willing to fight for them. It will resist to the last 
ditch the invading "barbarians" or will seek to spread by 
force of arms its own civilization. Thus Alexander the 
Great spread Grecian civilization in the East, and the 
patient Roman soldier carried the Latin tongue and culture 
from the Tiber to the Thames. So to-day our own genera- 
tion witnessed the titanic struggle between the advocates 
of Teutonic "Kultur" and the proponents of Anglo-Saxon 
liberalism. Often, however, the civilizations of invader 
and invaded fuse and a resulting culture is imposed 
upon each. 

Internal revolutions are violent changes in the folkways, 
which are shattered in favor of more liberal ideas. It is 



'28 Problems of American Democracy 

difficult, however, to force such a change. Peter the Great 
found trouble in westernizing Russia, while the French Rev- 
Through olution resulted in frightful carnage and vandal- 
revohaion. j sm j n QUr Qwn day ^ ^ R uss i an Revolution 

is an heroic attempt to shatter centuries of crystallized 
ideas and traditions. By the bloody path of war and revo- 
lution, history has progressed and modern man has become 
heir to the culture of all ages and civilizations. Knowledge 
of other cultures should rid him of group provincialism, 
while liberal education should free mankind from the bonds 
of superstition and ignorant worship of tradition. 

Other Social Forces. — We have seen how imitation has 

worked as a conservative force to preserve the folkways of 

the fathers. It may also work as a progressive 

Imitation. . . 

force to spread inventions and new ideas when 
once originated. The laws of imitation were first studied by 
a Frenchman named Gabriel Tarde who was puzzled by the 
repetition of certain crimes. Among other laws he found 
that imitation is greater in a densely populated region where 
means of communication are good. Thus, a new Parisian 
style of hat or a new English novel may be found almost 
immediately in American homes. News of war with Japan, 
however, took a long time to spread throughout the 
thinly populated and remote parts of Siberia. 

Fashion represents the changing or transient aspect of the 
social mind, just as folkways or custom represent its per- 
manent side. Fashion does not show a steady 

Fashion. 

progress, but rather a series of cycles. Thus the 
short sleeve succeeds the long sleeve, and the furniture of 
our grandfather once relegated to the attic has again 
become fashionable. The origin of style seems to lie in the 
instinctive desire for personal adornment and the wish to 



The Influence of the Social Environment 29 

be distinguished from the common crowd. Thus Occidental 

ladies pierce their ears, and Orientals their noses. Another 

law of imitation is that the masses tend to copy after the 

classes. Therefore, fashions represent the lesiure class ideals 

rather than those of work and service. The Chinese ladies 

bind their feet and thereby become incapacitated for 

degrading physical labor. A style spreads rapidly until it 

becomes common. Then it is abandoned by its sponsors 

because of numerous imitations. It is necessary for the 

safety of democracy to suppress the extravagant fashions 

of the wealthy and, at the same time, to stimulate the 

development of practical folkways and social customs 

among the masses. 

How the Crowd Acts. — Suggestion is a phase of the 

social mind associated with imitation. It is one mind 

acting upon another. Like imitation, it increases 

with the degree of association, so that it is of sug- 
gestion, 
greater in crowds than among a few individuals. 

Suggestion is the secret of hypnotism and of many supposed 
miracles like those of the Hindoo fakirs. It is heightened 
by abnormal states of mind, such as hysteria, or the fatigue 
brought on by continuous fasting. It is stronger where 
there is a lack of scientific knowledge. The prophet Mo- 
hammed, the dreamer of dreams, saw a vision which he 
communicated to the ignorant and emotional Arabs among 
whom he lived. As the story spread, it gained credence 
from an increasing number of believers, so that Islam 
finally spread from Persia to the Pyrenees. Children are 
more susceptible to suggestion than adults, and the skillful 
teacher realizes the power and danger of this device. It is 
the secret of hero worship, and often the source of power 
wielded by the leader over the credulous multitude. 



30 Problems of American Democracy 

It is in the crowd that the power of suggestion is greatest. 

Thus, during the Great Plague in London, when heaps of 

dead bodies lay in the street accentuating the 

istics of terror and imagination of the crowd, heighten- 

the crowd. . 

ing the power of suggestion, Defoe tells us how 
one individual pointed to a white cloud in the sky, calling it 
an angel and declaring that it was robed in white and 
armed with a sword. Immediately, by suggestion, the 
illusion spread and all believed and were afraid. The 
credulity of a crowd is incredible. History furnishes num- 
erous examples, such as the preaching of Peter the Hermit, 
when thousands followed the example of those around them 
and shouted for the sign of the Cross. Like a contagion, 
the crusading movement spread. Another characteristic 
of the crowd is the loss of a sense of individual responsi- 
bility. In a mob the individual can be led on to undreamed 
of deeds of violence, such as the lynching or burning of 
innocent or untried victims. The excitement and emotional- 
ism of the crowd may be seen in war times as well as in 
great religious revivals. The crowd feels and acts, but it 
cannot deliberate and reason. When it does so, it ceases 
to be a crowd and becomes a deliberative assembly. The 
crowd is unstable and cannot last. Rallying quickly around 
anyone capable of temporary leadership, it will disappear 
after the crisis as quickly as it was formed. A final char- 
acteristic of a crowd is its fickleness. On one occasion it 
will cry, "Hosanna in the Highest" and, on another, 
"Crucify Him, Crucify Him!" 

By a process of education it is necessary to build up an 
individuality strong enough to withstand the influence of 
the crowd and the magic of its demagogue leader. The 
sensational newspaper, which prints the harrowing details 



The Influence of the Social Environment 3 1 

of crime, wields a sinister power of suggestion to further 
crime. Social control can be developed only through the 
avoidance of sensationalism and through a con- , 

° Importance 

structive program of sane teaching, intellectual of social 

. • • t r control. 

self-possession, and the creation of the feeling of 
responsibility. An intelligent public opinion, which soberly 
discusses questions of the day, is the sole hope of a democ- 
racy. It represents the most advanced stage of the social 
mind, just as the mob is the lowest form of association. 
Social control is the collective or group mind, uninfluenced 
by the magic of suggestion or the blindness of imitation, 
intelligently cognizant of a course of action best suited to 
the welfare of the group. A society, free but incapable of 
self-control, brought about the excesses of the Reign of 
Terror. On the other hand, a society kept in order by the 
iron hand of autocracy had its Bastille or its Siberia. The 
aim of social progress is the development of a group capa- 
ble of controlling itself in peace, liberty, and intelligence. 
This is the problem of social control. 

It is interesting to examine the problem of social control 
in American democracy. Just as the United States is 
characterized on the physical side by varied and America's 
almost boundless natural resources, so the P° sltlon * 
nation, on its social side, is distinguished by freedom from 
age-long restrictions upon national habits of thought. In 
other words, America, unlike most European civilizations, 
is not unduly hampered by worn-out national traditions. 
It is true we have our democratic traditions transplanted 
from England, our Federal Constitution, and our own in- 
digenous Monroe Doctrine. But, as compared with other 
world powers, America lacks the countless fixed ideas and 
customs that so largely determine the actions of older 



2)2 Problems of American Democracy 

civilizations. For this very reason, the problem of social 
control is fraught with grave difficulties and dangers in 
America. We can, therefore, easily understand why so 
many "newfangled" ideas in all lines — political, economic, 
and social — take root so easily in this country. What 
America needs more than anything else, in order to accom- 
plish a sound policy of social control, is the establishment 
of some stabilizing influences in harmony with our national 
aspirations. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 
i. What are folkways? 

2. How do they arise? 

3. What come out of folkways? 

4. Why is a study of a nation's folkways important? 

5. Trace to their origin some superstitions of to-day? 

6. What is the social environment? 

7. Show its moulding power upon the individual. 

8. Show how the ideas of right and wrong vary with different 
groups. 

9. Is the standard of morality determined by the group? 
Illustrate. 

10. How are local customs broken and how do new ideas spread? 

11. How are civilized man's customs superior to those of savages? 

12. What is meant by a "cake of custom"? By the "melting pot" 
of civilization? 

13. Give some laws of imitation. 

14. Contrast fashion and custom. 

15. Show by illustration how fashion moves in cycles. 

16. Show the danger of having our ideals and fashions set by a 
moneyed leisure class. 

17. What is the social mind? 

18. Show how suggestion works. 

19. Under what circumstances can suggestion be seen to best 
advantage? 

20. Name the characteristics of a crowd. 

21. How can the mob spirit be avoided? 



The Influence of the Social Environment 33 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Some American customs and national traditions. 

2. An interpretation of the customs of some primitive people. 

3. The attempt of European nations to civilize their colonial 
possessions, i. e., to impose a different set of folkways upon them. 

4. The French Revolution and social changes. 

5. Tarde's "Laws of Imitation." 

6. Conflicting ideas of beauty and dress in different parts of the 
world. 

7. Laws of fashion. 

8. A personal experience illustrating principles of mob psychology. 

9. Personal experiences illustrating power of suggestion. 

REFERENCES 

Bagehot, W. Physics and Politics. 

Chapest, F. S. Social Evolution. Chapter VI. 

Ross, E. A. Social Psychology.. Chapters II to VI inclusive. 

Ross, E. A. Social Control. 

Ross, E. A. Principles of Sociology. 

Sumner, Wm. G. Folkways. Chapters I and II. 



CHAPTER IV 

Early Group Life 

I. Social evolution 

i . The antiquity of man 
2. The forces at work: 

a. Competition — struggle for existence 

b. Natural selection 

c. Cooperation 
II. Life of primitive man 

i . Sources of knowledge 

2. Neanderthal man 

3. Early characteristics 
III. Achievements of the past 

1 . The process of invention 

2. Examples: 

a. Tools and implements 

b. Discovery of fire 

c. Domestication of animals 

d. Agriculture 

e. Clothing 
/. Language 

3. Development of social institutions 

Having examined the effects of both the physical and 
the social environment upon the institutions of society in 
general, it is now our purpose to trace briefly the early his- 
tory of group life and its gradual development into that 
commanding institution known as the State. It is neces- 
sary to undertake this study in order to grasp clearly the 

34 



Early Group Life 35 

origin of the American State and the forces that lie back of 
our political, economic, and social development. 

Social Evolution. — The human species is old, and the 
thread of its history carries us far back into the dim past. 
The prehistoric period of mankind is many Thg 
times as long as the historic. If we let the antiquity 

of man. 

width of a man's thumb represent the time that 
has elapsed between the present and the grey dawn of his- 
tory as told by the pyramids of Egypt the length of a walk- 
ing stick might well represent the age of the human species. 
A line to represent the age of the earth's crust, which is 
roughly speaking the period of biological evolution, would 
stretch a distance of several city squares. Professor Robin- 
son makes a similar comparison, using the dial of a clock 
to show the length of the prehistoric period. Biological 
evolution is the story of the development of life from the 
lower to the higher forms, from the simple to the complex. 
Social evolution is the story of the development of group 
life from the simple to the complex, from the wandering 
tribes of hunters of centuries ago to the highly organized 
industrial states of to-day. 

The twin forces of competition and cooperation can be 
seen at work to-day, even as in the past, not only in human 
society, but in the lower forms of life. Both Forces at 
forces have played important parts in social and work : 

x Competition — 

biological evolution. Let us see what they are. struggle for 
The world of nature is only apparently calm and " 
peaceful. Underneath the supposed contentment there 
rages a ceaseless struggle for food, air, sunshine, and space. 
If every acorn grew to be an oak, the dry land of this 
world, in the course of a few hundred years, would not be 
sufficient space for the growth of all the oak trees. For 



36 Problems of American Democracy 

every starfish living, nearly half a million die annually. 
Millions perish and countless numbers must be born in 
order to insure the perpetuity of the species. The fact that 
the struggle for existence is keenest in the lower forms of 
life explains their greater productivity. It is necessary for 
survival. 

In the struggle for existence, in which the great majority 
of organisms perish, some survive. The stronger and those 
Natural better adapted to their environment survive, 
selection. -while the weaker and unfit are eliminated. This 
is called natural selection or the survival of the fittest. Out 
of the numerous variations or types, nature selects the 
organisms having the qualities most favorable to survival 
in a particular environment. Natural selection may be seen 
working among colonists in a strange land of rigorous 
climate in which only the hardiest can survive. The func- 
tion of natural selection is to weed out the unfit or the 
poorly adapted, and thus constantly to raise the type or 
adapt it to the environment. The old mastodons, whose 
skeletons we find in museums, were fitted to the marshy 
environments of thousands of years ago. Failing to adapt 
themselves to the new environment, they perished. In his 
early history, man won out in the fiercest struggle for 
existence because of his superior intelligence, which enabled 
him to trap and slay the larger animals among which he 
lived. Competition was a factor in social as well as in 
biological evolution, for there was a constant struggle be- 
tween groups. History is strewn with the wrecks of past 
civilizations and archaic institutions. Cuneiform inscrip- 
tions dug up in the Tigris-Euphrates valley tell a morbid 
tale of centuries of war between rival city-states, each with 
its own set of folkways and deities. Again, competition 



Early Group Life 37 

operated within the group as well as between groups. 
Leaders competed against other leaders, class against class, 
and folkways against folkways. To-day, natural selection 
still operates in the form of competition between individuals 
and groups of individuals. Although within civilized 
groups, few perish from starvation or are ruthlessly killed 
by their fellows, yet many are forced into the lower or 
poverty classes in society. Artificial regulations, like the 
laws of property and of inheritance, often prevent many 
individuals from actually facing this fierce struggle in 
society. 

Opposed to the emphasis laid upon the principle of the 
struggle for existence in the development of man, is the im- 
portance of the idea of cooperation in bringing Codpera- 
about social advancement. The advocates of iwn ' 
this principle object to the idea of a cold hearted struggle 
for existence and substitute, or rather add, the principle of 
altruism or the struggle for the lives of others. There are 
many evidences of this force at work in society. For ex- 
ample, as we ascend the scale of life, the period of infancy 
becomes longer and maternal care more necessary. Fish 
merely deposit their eggs and leave them to their fate; 
but a higher type, the mother bird, not only hatches her 
eggs, but also watches over her young fledglings. The 
period of human infancy lasts for many years, and the 
increased maternal care is the source of altruism and of 
much that is spiritual and sympathetic in the human 
breast. Thus, the source of altruism is the rearing of off- 
spring, and the resulting family group is the generator of 
cooperation. But the struggle for existence is not elimi- 
nated by cooperation. This force makes competition a 
group struggle rather than an individual one. It is a 



38 Problems of American Democracy 

superior adaptation and enables one group, possessing 
greater social solidarity, to compete more successfully 
against another group, not so well organized. Remarkable 
cooperation may be seen in some of the lower forms of life, 
as for illustration among bees and ants. Wild horses live 
in herds and thus protect themselves against the wolves. 
At the signal of danger, the colts are gathered in the center, 
the horses surround them and present a ring of kicking 
hind-legs to the foe. 

Life of Primitive Man. — Having sketched the twin 
forces of competition and cooperation, which have been 
Sources of constantly operating throughout the ages, let 
knowledge. ug ^ nQW to pi C £ Ure primitive man and his 

early group life. Fossil remains of primitive man afford 
good evidence of his appearance. Likewise, a knowledge of 
his early environment furnishes additional evidence of his 
life and activity. Finally, primitive races of to-day show 
us what our own ancestors were like centuries ago. From 
these three lines of reasoning, we are able to re-create primi- 
tive man in our imagination. 

Let us take, for illustration, the primitive type of Nean- 
derthal man, so named from the valley in Germany where 
Neander- his remains were first discovered. Similar dis- 
thai man. CO veries have since been made in caves from 
France to Hungary, and we infer that Neanderthal man 
was a common type centuries ago in Europe. Skeletons of 
the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros found with him seem 
to show that he lived in the great Ice Age. There have 
been discovered sufficient of his own bones to give a fairly 
good description of this early man. Neanderthal man was 
short and massive in structure and of powerful frame. The 
thick bones show large muscle attachments and we infer 



Early Group Life 39 

that he was therefore strong and muscular. He must have 
been a thick-necked individual carrying his head tilted 
slightly backward. The joints show that he walked up- 
right with a slight bend at the knees. Neanderthal man was 
just becoming accustomed to a permanent upright posture 
and walked with a shuffling gait. Such was the ancestor 
of a large number of present European peoples. 

Fossil remains like those on the island of Java show a 
more primitive type. On the other hand, skeletons like 
the Essex woman or the Galley Hill man ap- Early char- 
proach more and more closely our own type. actenstlcs ' 
The massive jaws and teeth of primitive man indicate that 
before the discovery of fire his diet must have been a tough 
one. The large and powerful arms were adapted for 
climbing to escape the beasts of prey. Huge digestive 
organs were necessary since primitive man gorged himself 
after the successful hunt because it might be a long time 
before more food could be obtained. Tough and hardy, the 
survivors were able to endure the pain and exposure which 
killed off the weaklings. Although possessing great natural 
powers of observation, primitive man's reasoning power 
was limited like that of the modern savage. He was a good 
imitator, however, and many of his earliest inventions were 
copied from the animal world. His interpretation of the 
phenomena of nature was the simplest and most direct. 
The running brook in which he saw his own shadow or other 
self and the whistling wind were to him indications of the 
numerous spirits always hovering about him for good or ill. 

Achievements of the Past. — The accomplishments of 
primitive man in the long prehistoric period are often re- 
ferred to as social origins. They are good illustrations of 
both mental and social evolution, since they show the in- 



40 Problems of American Democracy 

creasing power of human intelligence and an increasing 
degree of cooperation in group activities. 

Such a strenuous environment as that in which primitive 

man lived was fraught with constant danger and calculated 

to stimulate the development of mentality. Man 

The process m c J m 

of inven- finally triumphed over his fierce animal rivals by 
the crude inventions of his dawning intelligence. 
These were at first more accidental than conscious, although 
a useful dfevice was remembered and imitated. Finding 
that a tree which had fallen over a stream was an excellent 
means of crossing, primitive man imitated in other places 
by dragging a log in position and by this operation 
invented the first bridge. However, the achievements of 
man were more or less conscious as compared with those of 
the lower animals, like the nest-building of birds. Early 
man relied more upon intelligence than upon instinct. 
Again, the process of invention was accelerated and be- 
came more conscious as early civilization advanced. But 
the great purposive inventions of to-day rest upon the 
accidental discoveries of prehistoric times. Thus the 
modern steam-engine would have been impossible without 
the discovery of fire, somewhere back in the long-forgotten 
past. The twentieth century "sky-scraper" is but the 
latest stage in the evolution of housing, which began long 
ages ago when a half naked savage built a rude shelter for 
protection from the wind and rain. The child of to-day is 
the heir of the ages, but primitive man had to learn every- 
thing from the beginning. 

Let us then trace a few of the most notable examples of 
man's primitive achievements. The earliest implements in 
use were the club and pointed stick. The bow and arrow 
constituted as great a discovery for primitive man as gun- 



Early Group Life 



4i 




Primitive Man Making a Fire 
Courtesy of American Museum of Natural History, New York 



42 Problems of American Democracy 

powder for the men of the modern world. Man learned to 
work in stone and to chip it down to form a cutting edge. 
Examples- Thus we speak of the rough stone age and of the 
Tools and age of polished stone which covered long years of 

implements. n . . . . . . . 

prehistoric time. It is only within a compara- 
tively recent period that we reach the age of bronze and, 
finally, that of iron and steel. 

The discovery of fire made cooking possible. Primitive 
man, like many savages to-day, was accustomed to raw 
Discovery food. The Fuegians, for example, often eat their 
of fire. ggk raw as f-jjgy take them from the water. How 

fire was discovered is unknown, but many legends, like that 
of Prometheus, seek to explain its origin. It made possible 
the camp fire for the center of tribal life, and the hearth 
fire for family gatherings. 

Primitive man slowly learned that it was poor policy to kill 

more game than was actually necessary. By keeping some 

animals alive in captivity, there was created a 

Domestica- r J ' 

Hon of constant source of food, and man was no longer 

animals. ■ 

dependent merely upon the chances of the hunt. 
The domestication of the dog resulted probably from man's 
desire for company and amusement. A pastoral life necessi- 
tated wandering from place to place in search of new fields. 
Hence, for the safety of the migratory group, there was de- 
veloped a closer organization as illustrated by the patriarch 
Abraham of the Old Testament. As we pass from the hunting 
and fishing to the pastoral stage, a higher civilization prevails. 
Agriculture was accidentally discovered through the 
falling of seeds upon the ground of the camping places. 
The agricultural stage represents an advance 
over the pastoral. It calls for a more settled 
life, while a given area is capable of supporting a larger 



Early Group Life 43 

population. This means a greater degree of association, 
resulting in greater division of labor and greater mental 
stimulus. Hence the thickly settled river valleys of the 
Nile, and of the Tigris and Euphrates, were the birthplaces 
of civilization. 

Clothing did not originate so much from the feeling of 
modesty, or from the need of climatic protection, as from 
the desire for personal adornment and visible 
distinction. At first the skins of animals served 
as a covering, but later came the utilization of the native 
fibres of the various localities. Weaving and the art of 
pottery are good illustrations of woman's share in primitive 
culture. 

Although speech is regarded as a purely human acquisi- 
tion, the lower animals have certain sounds and cries 
familiar to their fellows. The origin of human 
speech has been explained by a number of dif- 
ferent and fanciful theories. Whatever the origin, its 
progress has been wonderful. The increasing ideas and 
needs of civilization have resulted in a corresponding in- 
crease in the vocabulary. There are some savage tribes of 
to-day whose language embraces but a few hundred words. 
In comparatively recent times, the device of writing was 
invented. The first attempts are known as picture writing. 
This was succeeded by the use of characters to represent 
words or syllables, as is shown in the development of 
Egyptian hieroglyphics. Finally, an alphabet was invented, 
later carried to Europe by Phoenician mariners, and thence 
spread all over the western civilized world. 

The material inventions of primitive man make a fasci- 
nating story, but represent only one phase of social evolu- 
tion. The gradual development of social institutions is 



44 Problems of American Democracy 

equally important. Social institutions may be defined as 
those recognized customs, conventions, and associations 

which have the support and approval of society, 
ment of" There are also other forms of association not 
stitutions. sanctioned by society, arising sporadically and 

lacking in permanency. If the individual takes 
part in these non-sanctioned forms of association, he 
incurs the displeasure of society and often becomes a social 
outcast. Therefore, every normal member of society seeks 
activities and associations approved by the society in which 
he lives. After the lapse of ages, these forms of association 
and ideas of living become crystallized into social institu- 
tions. It is hardly necessary to add that social institutions 
vary in different parts of the world and in different stages 
of human development. Among the great social institu- 
tions of to-day are the family, the state, the church, the 
school, and industrial society. The source of these funda- 
mental social institutions lies far back in the prehistoric 
period. In moulding them natural selection produced dis- 
similar results in various places and times. Different ages 
and different peoples adapted them to their particular 
physical and social environments. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

i . Compare the length of historic with prehistoric times. 

2. What do you understand by social evolution? 

3. Explain the part played by the struggle for existence in early 
society. 

4. Show how natural selection worked in primitive times. 

5. Explain the part played by cooperation in social evolution. 

6. Can altruism threaten the future progress of society? Explain. 

7. Sketch the life and characteristics of primitive man. 

8. What are some of the chief contrasts with modern traits? 



Early Group Life 45 

9. What was the appearance of Neanderthal man? 
10. Discuss the process of primitive invention. 
n. Give some of the achievements of primitive man. 

12. Which of these do you regard as most important for his future 
progress? Give reasons. 

13. What is a social institution? Name the principal ones. 

14. Do you regard the material achievements or the social insti- 
tutions as early man's greatest contribution to civilization? Why? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1 . Competition and cooperation in economic society to-day. 

2. The Darwinian theory of evolution. 

3. Fossil remains of prehistoric man in Europe. 

4. Cooperation or mutual aid among the lower forms of life. 

5. The discovery of fire and its importance. 

6. Theories of the origin of language. 

7. Intelligence versus instinct in early life. 

REFERENCES 

Chapin, F. S. Social Evolution. Chapters II and III. 

Drummond, H. Ascent of Man. 

Hayes, E. C. Introduction to a Study of Sociology. Chapters XVII 

and XVIII. 
Kelsey, C. Physical Basis of Society. Chapters II— V inclusive. 
Osborn, H. F. Men of the Old Stone Age. 
Robinson, J. H. The Mind in the Making. 

Sollas, W. J. Ancient Hunters and Their Modern Representatives. 
Thomas, W. I. Source Book of Social Origins. 
Wells, H. G. The Outline of History. Vol. I. 



CHAPTER V 

The Evolution of the State 

I. Nature and origin of the state 
i. Definition 
2. Origin: 

a. Fanciful theories 

b. The sociological view 
II. Functions of the state 

i. Primary 
2. Secondary- 
Ill. Stages of development 
i. The patriarchal family 

2. The gens or clan 

3. The tribe 

4. The city-state 

5. The nation 

IV. Institutions related to the state 

1. Nature of war: 

a. Causes 

b. Results 

2. Rise of slavery 

3. Development of law and property 

Nature and Origin of the State. — The State is one 
of the oldest and most commanding institutions of society. 
. It is a society organized politically for the pur- 
pose of preserving the group and of protecting 
the individuals composing it. We may define the State a= 

46 



The Evolution of the State 47 

a community of people inhabiting a definite area, fairly 
well unified under some sort of government, and ruled by 
officials under a body of written law or in accordance with 
unwritten custom. Its purpose is social control for the 
common good through organized cooperation. 

The origin of the State is difficult to trace because of its 
divergent roots and because of the numerous fanciful 
theories that obscure its early history. Almost 0rigin . 
every people has its tradition of an ancient law- Fanciful 
giver, like the Greek Draco or the Roman Numa. 
These wise men, if they ever really existed, did not give to 
the people by divine inspiration a new and brilliant code of 
laws, but merely collected and put into written form the 
customs and traditions of many generations. Each nation 
looks back to some mythical hero, claiming him as its 
founder. Thus Rome had its Romulus, and England its 
Arthur. Later in history appeared the Divine Right 
theory of the State by which kingship was viewed, not as a 
political development, but as a divinely ordained institu- 
tion. Under this view the Church and the State could not 
be easily separated. The English Stuarts claimed their 
power from God, and in France so absolute was this type 
of government that Louis XIV could say, " I am the State". 
This view of the State was followed by the Social Con- 
tract theory of such philosophers as Hobbes, Locke, and 
Rousseau. It was claimed by these writers that man- 
kind originally lived in a state of nature characterized 
by war, confusion, and individual liberty. In order to 
secure protection, the people voluntarily surrendered 
this natural liberty to some chief whom they selected to 
rule over them in order that they might enjoy peace and 
civil liberty. 



48 Problems of American Democracy 

The foregoing theories were the products of tradition, 
or of a speculative philosophy, or of the desire to justify 
The socio- despotic rule. The true origin of the State, how- 
logtcai mew. everj j s no i t ]-, e found in such simple explana- 
tions. Its basis lies in man's social instinct, that is, in his 
inherent desire for the companionship of group life. An- 
other factor is the principle of cooperation, which developed 
group solidarity in the conflict with other peoples. Slowly 
there developed from early family life the beginnings of the 
modern State. It was a gradual development of political 
control made necessary by the attempts of men to live 
together harmoniously within a given area. As the patri- 
archal family expanded, there was, however, no conscious 
effort to build up a State. Custom unconsciously developed 
into law, and the patriarch into king. War, since it re- 
quired organization for successful prosecution, furthered 
the evolution of the State. The temporary leader in battle 
tended to become the permanent chief. Again, in times of 
peace, the enforcement of group folkways and customs 
made authority necessary. This authority was more re- 
ligious than political, but in primitive society there was 
little differentiation between Church and State. 

Functions of the State.— The primary function of the 
State is to protect its members in the enjoyment of their 
Primary rights of life and property. As we have seen, this 
functions. wag one reason f or ^ s origin. When the State can 

no longer afford protection from foreign attack, it ceases to 
exist and confusion reigns. The fall of the Roman Empire 
was succeeded by feudalism, and the individual looked to his 
nearest and most powerful lord for protection. Internally 
the function of the State is to preserve the social order ; 
that is, to protect each member of society in the enjoyment 



The Evolution of the State 49 

of his rights. It must hold in check the unsocial individual 
who would infringe upon the privileges of others. Thus 
the State is the guardian of property and regulates its trans- 
fer and inheritance. It seeks to define crime and also to 
punish it by the administration of justice in its courts. 

With the decline of the functions of the early family, the 
power and activity of the State have increased. The 
modern ruler, taking the place of the patriarchal secondary 
father, governs a great community stretching unctlons « 
over an enormous area. The function of protection ex- 
pands into diverse forms of which our early ancestors had 
no conception. Thus, the State now regulates trade and 
industry, coins money, establishes standards of measure, 
and formulates tariffs. The regulation of transportation, 
of the public health, and of sanitation has come within its 
jurisdiction as well as the control of education which for- 
merly rested with the Church or the school. Lastly has 
come the care of defectives and dependents, for whom little 
systematic provision was formerly made. With the growth 
of industry and the increase of population, the modern 
State has become almost paternalistic. Thus the functions 
and powers of the State have increased with the growing 
culture of society. The ideal of citizenship is becoming 
that of social service. 

Stages of Development. — The two roots of the State 
lie in kinship or blood-relationship and in the institution of 
private property. The State grew up with the 
development of the idea of private property, for archai 

, . . family. 

whose protection government came into exist- 
ence. Kinship is the other basis of the State, for the 
patriarchal family expanded into the gens, the phratry, the 
tribe, and finally the nation. The primitive social group or 

E 



5<d Problems of American Democracy 

"horde," as it is sometimes called, was composed of sev- 
eral family groups, the patriarchal family being much 
larger than the modern one. The family in the modern 
sense of the word includes merely the parents and off- 
spring, for to-day when each son marries, he is regarded as 
forming another family. In former days, however, he did 
not escape his original family jurisdiction, but merely 
brought his wife into his father's household. The patri- 
archal father ruled over all his sons, their wives, and their 
sons' families. The oldest surviving male was head of this 
large patriarchal family. He was judge, high priest, and 
ruler, often possessing power of life and death over his 
little community. He was the custodian of the folkways 
or unwritten law and the administrator of justice and of 
religious sacrifices. After death, he was deified by the 
ceremony of ancestor worship. 

The family expanded in numbers not only by natural 
increase, but also by adoption or fictitious kinship. A 
The gens stranger might be brought into the group and, 
or clan. after going through a ceremony of initiation, was 
regarded as a true member of the family into which he had 
been adopted. Thus the patriarchal family expanded into 
a larger group called the gens or clan. This was a union 
of several families who possessed the same religious cere- 
monies and beliefs. Thus, the binding social tie expanded 
from kinship into common religion. The heads of the 
gentes or clans became officers of some importance. By 
further expansion, a union of several gentes or clans was 
called curia by the Romans or phratry by the Greeks. The 
purpose now became more political than religious. Cover- 
ing a greater area, the new group contained the germs of 
local government. The first Roman assembly sat accord- 



The Evolution of the State 51 

ing to curiae, which have been likened to the wards of a 
modern city. We can observe this process among the 
Iroquois Indians who formed a federation of six tribes. 
Each tribe was divided into two phratries, each of which 
was subdivided into several clans named after various 
animals. There were, for example, the clans of the wolf, 
bear, and turtle. 

More important than either the clan or the phratry is 
the larger unit called the tribe which often represents the 
group as a whole. Among many peoples the 

The tribe. 

development of the State never gets beyond the 
tribal stage. The Iroquois Indians, by a federation of 
tribes, were beginning to develop a nation when the white 
man appeared. The chief purpose of tribal organization 
is to secure cooperation in war. A capable chief or war 
leader is generally chosen from the heads of the clans. In 
many cases the phratry does not seem to be so important, 
although the custom varies with different peoples. The 
chief leads all the clans in war and in times of peace acts as 
presiding officer or judge. As the group organization perfects 
itself, the chief becomes king. His office tends to become 
hereditary and his power despotic so long as war continues. 
The most ancient type of the nation is that which we 
call the city-state, so well illustrated by early Rome and 
by the small independent communities of an- The city- 
cient Greece. These were often based upon state " 
tribal units. Early Rome, for example, was made up of 
three tribes, each consisting of ten curias. The early city- 
states were very small, consisting merely of a single walled 
town and the surrounding territory. Each was an inde- 
pendent self-governing community, making war, negotiat- 
ing peace, and demanding allegiance from its citizens. 



52 Problems of American Democracy 

The early city-state expanded into the nation by the 
process of war through the struggle of one city-state against 
The another, and the incorporation of the con- 

quered by the conquerors. An economic factor 
of the conquest lay in the desire for booty, or the more 
modern desire for commercial expansion. The successful 
nation became constantly larger by devouring its rivals. 
The field of history is strewn with the wrecks of conquered 
civilizations, like those of Troy, Etruria, and Carthage. 
While this process of external expansion is going on, there 
is taking place internally the differentiation of political 
organs and functions such as is found in the modern State. 
Church and State tend to separate, while the government 
divides itself into the executive, the legislative, and the 
judicial. Separate institutions like senate, assemblies and 
courts appear. The trend of development is not always 
toward a greater degree of democracy, because men are 
often willing to live under a despotism which protects their 
lives and their property. As Aristotle has pointed out, a 
frequent cycle of political change is from monarchy to aris- 
tocracy, and frOm aristocracy to tyranny. When the rule 
of the tyrant becomes unbearable, the tyranny is suc- 
ceeded by a democracy which, upon becoming corrupt or 
inefficient, gives place once more to monarchy. 

Institutions Related to the State. — The process of 
war brought about the amalgamation of the State. In the 
patriarchal days each family avenged a wrong 
of war: done to one of its members. In a later stage of 
political development, the warfare was carried 
on between tribes. In modern times war is waged between 
nations or between groups of nations. With the growth of 
the political unit, the area affected has become constantly 



The Evolution of the State 53 

larger. War may be regarded as the group phase of the 
struggle for existence. As population increases and presses 
upon food supply, the group tends to expand territorially.. 
This necessity for expansion brings the group into conflict 
with its neighbors, and war results. Besides this economic 
factor, racial antagonism and the clash of cultures or 
religions are potent causes of war. Man's primitive in- 
stincts are easily aroused, and the havoc of conflict is too 
apparent to need mention. War to-day is often regarded 
as an anachronism, a relic of the primitive days of bar- 
barism. The economic stakes for which it is waged fre- 
quently fade into insignificance when compared with the 
loss of property involved. The appalling loss of life is 
often in vain, for, unfortunately, right is not always 
victorious. 

Nevertheless, so long as man's primitive instincts re- 
main, war represents a modern survival of the struggle for 
existence. War, too, often stimulates the hardy 

. Results. 

virtues of a decaying people. It develops 
patriotism and may serve the purpose of moral regeneration. 
Another good result of war has been the development of a 
higher degree of social organization, for conflict made group 
solidarity necessary. Government often arose around some 
competent leader who led his people to victory or safety. 
Thus the lawgiver Moses led the children of Israel out of 
Egypt, guided them during their period of war and migra- 
tion, and around him crystallized the slowly forming 
nation. The dangers of war tend to make the ruler's power 
more autocratic, and kingship developed in Judea after 
the long wars with neighboring peoples. Past wars have 
brought about the breaking of the "cake of custom" by a 
cross fertilization of cultures. Captive Greece conquered, 



54 Problems of American Democracy 

by her civilization, the victorious Romans. War formerly 
resulted also in the formation of social classes, for the con- 
querors often held the conquered as slaves or as a subject 
class, like the Helots of the Spartans. In England there 
existed for a century a great gulf between the upper class 
Norman nobles and the lower class conquered Saxons. 
This situation is aptly described in Sir Walter Scott's 
fascinating tale of Ivanhoe. 

Thus the institution of slavery developed with war. The 
lives of the conquered were spared in order that they might 
Rise of relieve the conquerors of the burden of monoto- 
siavery. nous labor. Because of the creation of a slave 
population, industry ceased to be the lot of women, as was 
the custom during the savage or hunting stage. Slavery 
disciplined a large part of mankind to habits of steady 
work and enabled the conquerors to live a life of leisure. 
The cultures of Greece and Rome were products of slave 
civilizations. Slavery has been common in the past and has 
been justified by the folkways and moral standards of the 
group practicing it. Gradually the lot of the slave im- 
proved, until the final disappearance of this institution 
from civilized society. 

Laws, as we have seen, originated in folkways and un- 
written customs, which were later codified into legal sys- 
tems by able statesmen. They reflect group 
merit of" standards of conduct, — moral adjustments of 
property. society. The rise of the State and the progress 
of law are parallel developments. One reason 
for the existence of law is the protection of the individual 
in his rights of property. Among primitive peoples the 
only recognized private property is a personal possession, 
such as a weapon or a bodily ornament. The belongings of 



The Evolution of the State 55 

another are respected merely out of regard for, or from fear 
of, the owner. The institution of private property grad- 
ually develops as the group mind, or public opinion, con- 
siders property rights as distinct from the individual 
himself. The enforcing of justice upon the thief is then no 
longer an individual matter of the aggrieved party, but 
becomes a group function for which the State comes into 
existence. Primitive people are generally more or less 
communistic. Hunting grounds belong to the group, not 
to the individual. The Australian native, for example, 
regards the game he kills as belonging to others besides 
himself, and explicit rules for its disposition are found in 
the folkways. Individual rights are difficult for most 
savages to understand. The growth of civilization, how- 
ever, has been marked by the development of the idea of 
individual property rights as distinct from primitive savage 
communism. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Give a brief definition of the State as an institution of society. 

2. What are the elements necessary? 

3. Name three theories of the State. 

4. Explain each. 

5. What is the basis of the State in human instinct? 

6. Show the role of cooperation. 

7. Explain the idea of evolution as applied to the development of 
the State. 

8. What made authority necessary in times of war? 

9. In peace? 

10. What is the primary function of the State? 

11. When does feudalism arise? 

12. Can you give any illustration of feudalism other than medieval 
Europe? 

13. Name some other functions of the State. 

14. Show how its sphere of activity has grown. 



56 Problems of American Democracy 

15. Give a description of the patriarchal family as a unit of 
government. 

16. Explain the clan and the phratry. 

17. What were the differences between them? 

18. Give the organization of the Iroquois Indians. 

19. Discuss the tribal stage of political development. 

20. Define and illustrate the city-state. 

21. Show the process by which nations developed from small 
city-states. 

22. Illustrate the growth of political institutions and the develop- 
ment of separate organs of government. 

23. How does this illustrate the evolutionary principle of develop- 
ment from the simple to the complex? 

24. Give Aristotle's cycle of government. 

25. Give some good results of war in the past. 

26. Give two good results of slavery in the past. 

27. Do you think our Southern slave holders believed the institu- 
tition to be just? Why? 

28. What are the two roots of the State? 

29. Trace the development of the idea of private property. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The city-state of the Greeks. 

2. The clans of ancient Rome. 

3. Slavery among the ancients. 

4. The social contract theory of the State. 

5. History of the theory of Divine Right. 

6. Communism. 

7. The abolition of war. 

REFERENCES 

Blackmarand Gillen. Outlines oj Sociology . Chapters VII and VIII. 

Dealey, J. Q. Sociology. Chapter VI. 

Ellwood, C. A. Sociology and Modern Social Problems. 

Fairbanks, A. Introduction to Sociology. Chapter X. 

Fowler, W. W. The City State of the Greeks and Romans. 

Hayes, E. C. Introduction to a Study of Sociology. Pages 5 19 to 538. 

Wilson, W. The State. Chapters I and II. 



CHAPTER VI 

The Origin of the American State 

I. The original thirteen colonies 
i. The South: 

a. Early settlement 

b. Social life 

2. New England: 

a. How founded 

b. Compared with the South 

3. Middle colonies: 

a. Their origin 

b. Another element 

4. Later additions : 

a. French Huguenots 

b. Scotch-Irish 

II. The new nation in the making 

1. Comparison with French settlements 

2. Comparison with Latin America 

3. Transplanted ideas 

4. Independence 

5. Union 

The evolution of the State as a social institution has al- 
ready been traced. Let us now make a particular study of 
the American State. This necessitates a consideration of 
both the physical heredity, representing our racial stock, and 
also the social heredity, representing the ideas and ideals 
which crossed the Atlantic with the original settlers. Here 
again is the problem of adjustment, for we must ask our- 

57 



58 Problems of American Democracy 

selves constantly how the new environment affected both 
the people and the institutions of the new nation. The 
European background of American history is most impor- 
tant, for it holds the key to many curious turns in our 
colonial history. Again, early American political and social 
institutions were patterned after those of the mother 
country, although these were gradually altered in the 
process of adjustment to new conditions. Thus, starting 
with the same English traditions of local government, the 
southern and New England colonists worked out two dif- 
ferent systems because of their different physical environ- 
ments. 

The Original Thirteen Colonies. — In 1607, at James- 
town, was founded the first permanent English colony in 
_. „ ^ America. From the earliest times to the present 

The South: ^ 

Early settle- the New World has been regarded as a land of 
boundless possibilities. The first English colo- 
nists in Virginia expected to find gold and precious stones, 
and to return wealthy to the mother land by the exploita- 
tion of the New World. Instead, death and starvation 
faced them, while the life of the new colony hung by a 
thread. The cultivation of tobacco, however, gave the 
South a permanent industrial basis. The nationality of 
the settlers was almost purely English, but of the most 
varied character and social condition. After the execution 
of Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth, 
a number of royalist families fled to Virginia rather than 
submit to political conditions at home. The exodus of the 
cavaliers to the New World is responsible for such names 
as Washington, Marshall, Monroe and Madison in Amer- 
ican history. Many of the first families of the South had 
their roots in the aristocracy of Old England. Many also 



The Origin of the American State 59 

were sprung from the country gentry and from the middle 
class who came to America to escape political vexation or 
to recruit a failing fortune. The lower classes also sent 
their quota. Indentured servants came over at the rate 
of a thousand a year. Kidnappers smuggled over victims 
snatched from the streets of London, while prisoners were 
often given the choice between the gallows and the New 
World. Dr. Johnson considered Americans "a race of con- 
victs" who "ought to be content with anything we allow 
them short of hanging." This comment of an old English 
pedant should be remembered by the descendants of these 
same Americans, not because of its inaccuracy, but rather 
to prevent ourselves from falling into a similar error with 
regard to our own present-day immigrants. 

The founding of Georgia by Oglethorpe as an asylum for 
debtors languishing in English prisons should be interesting 
to the student of social problems. The cultiva- 

r-T • i/~i t i it Social life. 

tion 01 mdigo in the Carolmas played the same 
role as the cultivation of tobacco in Virginia. Cotton did 
not become king in the South until after the invention of 
the cotton gin. Slavery was introduced and, as in Spanish 
America, was especially suited to plantation life. A broad 
and fertile land made agriculture the natural industry, 
while large estates developed a landed aristocracy. The 
home of the planter was magnificently located upon a hill 
overlooking a river, up which came the yearly ship from 
England to discharge its cargo of luxuries and to receive 
its crop of tobacco. Living at a distance from each other, 
travellers were royally entertained and Southern hospital- 
ity became justly famous. The county system of local 
government, instead of the township, was the natural 
political development of a widely scattered population 



6o 



Problems of American Democracy 



engaged in agriculture. The established church was the 
Anglican, and the form of Colonial government was that 
of a royal or crown colony. 

Plymouth Rock is still the shrine of tourists, for here in 
1620 landed the Pilgrim fathers. For the sake of con- 

science, they sailed the stormy Atlantic and en- 
England: dured the bleak shores of New England. In 

their old home, State and Church were united 
and the Anglican form of worship was obligatory. After a 




Early Pilgrims Going to Church 

brief stay in Holland, the Pilgrims were granted the right 
to settle in America where they could worship God as they 
pleased. The Restoration in 1660, and the persecutions of 
Archbishop Laud, drove to the New World thousands more 
of dissenting Puritans. In this great exodus several regi- 
cides took refuge. Virginia had been the Mecca for royal- 
ists for whom, a short time before, the parliamentary Com- 
monwealth had become unsafe. New England, after the 



The Origin of the American State 



61 



restoration of the Stuart king, became the haven for the 
adherents of the " Roundhead" party. 

Like the Virginians, the early settlers of New England 
were purely of English stock, but of very different char- 
acter. We have spoken already of the political _ 

1 J A Lorn pared 

and religious differences between them. The with the 

South. 

cavalier type in the South was merry and pleas- 
ure loving, while the New England Puritan was grave and 
stern. Roisterers, gossips, and Sabbath breakers were pun- 




Modern "Pilgrims" Coming to America 



ished. In America to-day, the Puritan traditions of the 
Sabbath still linger in spite of the broadening spirit of 
the twentieth century. The climate, the hilly nature of 
the land and the fear of the Indians prevented agriculture 
from developing into the plantation system. For the same 
reasons, the township system of local government devel- 



62 Problems of American Democracy 

oped with its school and meeting house. Here the colonists 
enjoyed, for a time at least, the privileges of a charter 
form of government. Self-government became a passion 
with the Puritan, who fought for freedom from the days of 
the Boston tea-party to the time of the abolition move- 
ment against slavery. Puritan blood has sometimes been 
responsible for narrowness and bigotry in our national char- 
acter, but it has always been willing to fight for a cause 
that it believed to be just. 

The Middle Colonies had a rather checkered career and 
their origin, unlike that of the other two sections, was not 
M'ddi purely English. Tracing their racial heredity, 

colonies: we find that the Dutch were the first to settle 
origm. ]\j ew Amsterdam as a trading post with the In- 
dians for furs. Their line stretched from Fort Nassau (now 
Gloucester, N. J.) to Fort Orange (now Albany, N. Y.). 
Long after the English occupied their territory, Dutch 
names like Schuyler, Astor and Van Rensselaer continued 
to appear in American life. The customs and character- 
istics of the Knickerbockers have colored New York. The 
Swedes settled at the mouth of the Delaware and named 
Christiana Creek after their queen. They were absorbed 
in turn, however, by the Dutch and English. Pennsyl- 
vania and Maryland are two famous examples of colonies 
founded as asylums from religious persecutions. The for- 
mer was founded by William Penn for the Quakers, and 
the latter by Lord Baltimore for the Roman Catholics. 
Both flourished under the proprietary form of colonial gov- 
ernment, which closely resembled the feudal society of 
medieval Europe. Religious liberty characterized the Mid- 
dle Colonies. This toleration affords a good illustration of 
the liberalizing effects of a cross fertilization of cultures. 



The Origin of the American State 63 

The Swedes and the Dutch lost their colonies to the 
English, who continued to migrate to America in large 
numbers. A new element, however, was found Another 
in a large wave of German immigration which ' 
began to pour into Pennsylvania about this time. William 
Penn had advertised his colony in a pamphlet directed to 
the oppressed of all nations. This was circulated widely 
through the Palatinate region of Germany. There the 
peasants had suffered greatly from the horrors of the 
Thirty Years' War and in the wars with Louis XIV of 
France. Many dissenting Protestant sects, like the Dunk- 
ards and the Mennonites, sought liberty in the New World. 
So vast was this alien tide that it was feared the English 
would be outnumbered by the German population that 
settled the rich agricultural valleys of Pennsylvania. 
Among the great men of this group we may mention Pastor- 
ius, the German Quaker, who settled Germantown, Ritten- 
house, the mathematician, and the patriot Muhlenburg. 

Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes which 
had granted toleration to the Protestant Huguenots. Under 
pain of conformity, or persecution, this enter- 
prising, industrial class of French citizens fled to additions: 
Holland, England, and America. New Rochelle, French 

7 ° ; ' Huguenots. 

named after the old Huguenot stronghold in 
France, was founded near New York. South Carolina also 
had a sprinkling of this immigration, which furnished such 
names in American history as Paul Revere and John Jay. 
Among the most aggressive of our early settlers were the 
Scotch-Irish. They were the Protestant Scotch, mostly 
Presbyterians, who had settled northern Ireland The Scotch- 
in the days of James I. Through them Ulster Insh ' 
became a great industrial center, but the growing linen in- 



64 Problems of American Democracy 

dustry of that region was deliberately killed by an act of 
the English Parliament. Again, conformity to the estab- 
lished Anglican church was necessary to the enjoyment of 
many rights of citizenship. Therefore, at the beginning of 
the eighteenth century, a great wave of Scotch-Irish migra- 
tion to America took place. As the seacoast was already 
occupied, they settled along the frontier marked by the 
Allegheny Mountains. Their line stretched from New 
Hampshire and Vermont, through central Pennsylvania 
west of the German settlement, and down through the 
Shenandoah Valley into Virginia and the Carolinas. The 
Scotch-Irish were of that pioneer type who cleared the 
forests and fought back the Indians. They won the West 
for a later generation and have kept alive ideals of democ- 
racy. To this group belong many illustrious statesmen 
and generals, like Patrick Henry, Andrew Jackson, and 
General Grant. 

The New Nation in the Making.— Such were the 
people who settled the thirteen original colonies. Although 
other elements were present in the population, 
sonwith" the racial heredity of the new people was chiefly 
Sements. et " Anglo-Saxon. The mountains, as well as the 
Indians, proved a barrier to western expansion, 
but made for contiguity of settlement. While the seacoast 
was being settled by the English, the French colonists had 
entered the continent by the great water ways of the St. 
Lawrence and the Mississippi, founding such distant settle- 
ments as Quebec and New Orleans. The scattered char- 
acter of their American colonization put them at a 
disadvantage in the war fought to decide whether the 
continent was to be a New France or a New England. 
Again, the English settlers had wives and families, but the 



The Origin of the American State 65 

French trappers frequently came alone. Often they took 
wives from among the natives, and the purity of the 
Caucasian stock was not preserved. 

While various nations were striving for the possession of 
North America, Spanish supremacy in the south seemed 
assured. Not only all of South America but also 
a large portion of southern North America re- so ™wfth" 
ceived its physical and social heredity from America. 
Spain and Portugal. To-day Latin America is 
geographically larger than Anglo-Saxon America. An in- 
teresting contrast is here afforded in both heredity and 
environment. The physical environment in which Latin 
American culture developed is that of a warm and semi- 
tropical climate. Its plant and animal life is different, and 
its economic history has consequently taken a different 
course. After the wild search for gold abated, agriculture 
developed under the plantation system which was accom- 
panied by the institution of slavery. The enslavement of 
the Indians was followed by the importation of negroes 
from Africa upon a huge scale. Of this fact the negro re- 
publics of the West Indies are proof to-day. The Indian 
population was relatively larger than in North America, 
where it never became an important element in national 
life. There has also been a blending of the three races in 
Latin America to an extent unknown in Anglo-Saxon 
America. 

The physical environment and the physical heredity of 

the English colonists thus differed considerably from that 

of their neighbors. Equally striking is the dif- m , 

° . . . Th e trans- 

ference in the social heredity, that is, in the planted 

legacy of laws, customs, religious and political 

institutions. Among the transplanted ideas which crossed 



66 Problems of American Democracy 

the Atlantic with the fathers was the great body of English 
common law which had grown up in the past centuries of 
English history. Again, the right of jury trial by one's 
peers was distinctly English, as compared with the more 
arbitrary court procedure of Spain and France. Absolute 
monarchy was then in vogue upon the continent of Europe, 
but the English colonists had behind them traditions of 
constitutional monarchy. They were standing also upon 
such great foundation stones of liberty as the Magna 
Charta, and the Petition and Bill of Rights. The colonists 
were therefore very insistent about their rights as English- 
men. Stormy controversies arose between the various pro- 
vincial governors and the lower houses of assembly. As 
in the struggle between the English king and his Parlia- 
ment, the chief interest frequently centered about the con- 
trol over the purse strings. 

The English colonies received far more liberal treatment 
by the mother country than those of France and Spain, 
indepen- where the control was more autocratic. It must 
also be remembered that the economic phil- 
osophy of. the eighteenth century regarded colonies not as 
a public trust, but as a legitimate source of profit. Un- 
fortunately, even to-day this idea of colonial exploitation 
has not altogether disappeared. The Anglo-Saxon concept 
of democracy developed even more rapidly in the new west- 
ern world than in the old one. "No taxation without repre- 
sentation" was an ideal which many Englishmen them- 
selves did not possess in those days of "rotten boroughs." 
In fact, it was not until the Reform Bill of 1832 that cer : 
tain large English cities were represented in the British 
Parliament. Some far-seeing statesmen, like Pitt anc 
Burke, could perceive that America had common caus" 



• 



The Origin of the American State 67 

with the unrepresented groups at home. Failing, however, 
to strike a responsive chord in the lethargic England of the 
Hanoverian dynasty, the Americans changed their plea. 
They ceased to speak of their rights as Englishmen, but 
spoke of their rights as men. The works of such eighteenth 
century French philosophers as Rousseau had crossed the 
Atlantic and found fertile soil in the New World. Thomas 
Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, 
was a great student of the social contract theorists of 
whom we spoke in the preceding chapter. He defended the 
right of revolution as a natural right of the people, when 
the sovereign had broken his part of the social contract. 
With the successful conclusion of the Revolutionary War, 
the emancipated colonists were free to try their experi- 
ment of an independent democracy. 

The period following the war has been characterized by 
John Fiske as the critical period in American his- 
tory. Decentralizing tendencies were strong, 

J ... Union. 

but finally the principle of union triumphed over 
that of sectionalism. The outcome should be regarded as 
a gradual evolution, rather than as the sudden work of 
such champions of nationalism as Madison and Hamilton. 
There had been earlier experiments in union, like the 
famous New England Confederation. The nature of the 
country, the township life, and the fear of the Indians 
served to bind the northern settlements together. Small 
communities had grown into states, and now the states 
were about to try the great experiment of uniting themselves 
into a nation. The French and Indian War had stimulated 
among the colonists a sense of "consciousness of kind" 
against the common foe. The Revolution still further de- 
veloped this growing spirit of nationalism by such institu- 



68 Problems of American Democracy 

tions as committees of correspondence. An immediate 
union, however, was too great an initial step. The Articles 
of Confederation were first tried and found wanting. Their 
very failure paved the way for the great Federal Constitu- 
tion, which Gladstone regarded as the greatest document 
ever struck off within a given time by the hand of man. 
With its adoption, the new nation was born. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

i. Differentiate between physical and social heredity. 

2 . Illustrate the principle of natural selection from early American 
history. 

3. Show the process of adjustment at work in our early institu- 
tions. 

4. Sketch the character of the Virginia settlers. 

5. Compare the New Englanders with the Southerners. 

6. Compare the different institutions of the two regions. 

7. What non-English peoples settled in the Middle Colonies? 
Give their characteristics? 

8. What were some social effects of this mixture of races and 
creeds? 

9. Give the motives and character of the Huguenot settlers. 

10. Do the same for the Scotch-Irish. 

11. Where did each of the non-English groups settle? 

12. Give the descent of some famous Americans. 

13. Compare the physical environment of the Spanish and English 
settlements. 

14. Compare the social heredity of the two groups. 

15. What were some of the political institutions which the colonists 
brought with them from England? 

16. Why was Burke sympathetic toward the Americans? 

17. Who wrote of the social contract theory? What was it? 

18. What was the critical period of American history? Why was 
it so called? 

19. How and why did nationalism triumph over sectionalism? 

20. Differentiate between federation and confederation. 



The Origin of the A merican State 69 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The importance of the European background in American 
history. 

2. Geographical environment as an explanation for the differences 
between the institutions of New England and those of the Southern 
colonies. 

3. The contribution of the non-English nationalities to the life 
and customs of the Middle Colonies. 

4. The Scotch-Irish pioneer in American history. 

5. The Mercantilists and eighteenth century colonial policies. 

6. Early steps toward union in America. 

7. The influence of the Latin American culture. 

REFERENCES 

Cheyney, E. P. The European Background of American History. 
Commons, J. R. Races and Immigrants in America. 
Merriam, C. E. A History of American Political Theories. 
Morris, H. C. A History of Colonization. ■ 
Ross, E. A. Old World in the New. 
Thwaites, R. G. The Colonies. 



CHAPTER VII 

The Organization of the Political Machinery 

I. A written constitution 
i. Its significance 
2. Its guarantees 
II. Nation and state 
i. Division of powers 

2. Growth of concentration 

3. National problems 

4. State problems 
III. Separation of powers 

1. Legislative 

2. Executive 

3. Judicial 

4. Checks and balances 

5. Comparison with British cabinet system 

A Written Constitution. — Not all nations have written 
constitutions. Although a written constitution generally 
its signifi- marks a milestone along the road of political 
cance. progress, Great Britain is an illustration of 

an enlightened democracy with an unwritten constitution. 
The British Parliament may repeal an act and pass another 
in its place which then becomes the law of the land. Al- 
though this new law may seem to encroach upon individual 
rights, there can never be a question of its constitutionality. 
The United States, however, is a constitutional democracy. 
The Supreme Court is the final authority to decide whether 
or not a given law is a violation of the federal constitution. 
If so, it is null and void. Popular opinion, however, may 

70 



The Organization of Political Machinery 7 1 

sometimes be strong enough to amend the written constitu- 
tion. Although there are four possible methods of amend- 
ing the American constitution, the constitution of the 
United States has been amended only by securing a two- 
thirds vote in both houses of Congress and by the later 
ratification of three-fourths of the individual states. This 
is a tedious process and scarcely a score of amendments 
have been ratified since the adoption of the federal consti- 
tution. Many economic reforms have been delayed because 
of the barrier of the constitutionality of a proposed law. 
On the other hand, this method of amendment has pre- 
vented too hasty an expression of public opinion in the 
fundamental law of the land. 

How far are life, liberty, and property secured by the 
federal constitution? In order to secure the adoption of 
the constitution and to appease its opponents, i ts guar . 
who were fearful of strong government, a num- antees - 
ber of amendments were added. These safeguards have 
been termed the American Bill of Rights. They include 
among other things such fundamental guarantees as re- 
ligious freedom, jury trial, freedom of speech and the press, 
and the protection of person and home. It must be remem- 
bered, however, that these are restrictions upon the na- 
tional government and do not apply to the states. Most 
of the state constitutions have similar safeguards for the 
liberty and protection of their own citizens. The federal 
constitution, however, does guarantee to each state a re- 
publican form of government and protection against inva- 
sion. It further prescribes that full faith and credit shall 
exist mutually among the several states, and that citi- 
zens of one state shall be entitled to all the rights and 
privileges of citizens of another state. 



72 



Problems of American Democracy 




The Birth-place of the American State 

Nation and State. — The new American government 
was a federal republic. English monarchical traditions 
Division failed to take root in the Western world and 
o powers, j^les of nobility were expressly forbidden. A 
centralized form of government was out of the question, 
and we have seen that even a federation, instead of a con- 
federation, was a great political triumph. The present 
French Republic, by way of contrast, is a highly centralized 



TJie Organization of Political Machinery 73 

republic, and the departments into which the nation is 
divided are merely administrative units. On the other 
hand, Germany, Switzerland, and the various self-govern- 
ing colonies of Great Britain are federal governments. It 
is interesting to trace in each of these constitutions the 
separation of powers between the national and the state 
governments. In the United States the powers of the fed- 
eral government are expressed in the constitution. Re- 
sidual powers, that is, those not mentioned, are reserved 
to the individual states. Some powers given to the federal 
government would seem sometimes to conflict with other 
similar ones reserved to the states. Such overlapping may 
cause some confusion, but the supremacy of the federal 
laws and treaties is specifically stated in the constitution 
itself. 

There are three political units within the United States, 
i. e., the national government, the individual states, and 
finally the local governments. We may apply a 
similar three-fold division to the forms of local concentra- 
government. Here they fall into three main 
units, — county, township, and city. We have seen the im- 
portance of town life in early New England and are not 
surprised that in the East the township is still the chief unit 
of local government. The town meeting and the town offi- 
cers are very important. In the South the county is the 
chief unit of local government, and county offices are rela- 
tively more important. The Middle Atlantic and Western 
states show every variety of compromise between the two 
systems. But, whether the county or the township system 
of local government has survived, there has gradually grown 
up a concentration of functions within the commonwealths 
themselves. The state government is taking over wholly, 



74 Problems of American Democracy 

or in part, many duties that were formerly left to the local 
communities. Good illustrations of this growing concentra- 
tion of state authority are found in matters of health, edu- 
cation, charities, and roads. In the same way, there has 
been a shifting of function from the state to the national 
government. By the passage of several amendments the 
national government has encroached upon the state con- 
trol originally exercised over suffrage. The federal regula- 
tion of commerce and, to a certain extent, of industry is a 
similar story of gradual concentration of federal power. 

Among the distinctively national problems is that of 
national defence. It involves the maintenance of an army 
National and navy. The declaring of war, the making of 
problems. p eace an( j other treaties are distinctly national 
functions. The control over immigration and naturaliza- 
tion are kindred duties. Admission to citizenship is a fed- 
eral matter, but the granting of suffrage is a state matter 
except as limited by the federal amendments. Special fed- 
eral courts of justice are maintained. Under the clause in 
the Constitution giving Congress control over inter-state 
commerce, our national government is wrestling with an 
ever increasing number of economic problems. Moreover, 
it lays and collects the tariff and excise duties. The federal 
income tax has come as the result of a special amendment. 
The federal government alone can coin money and issue 
paper currency. Here we are face to face with the national 
banking system. The national government grants patents 
and copyrights. Finally the post office is a federal mo- 
nopoly and under this power has been developed the parcels 
post. The powers granted to the national government by a 
sparsely settled agricultural community have been stretched 
to meet the need of a great modern industrial nation. 



The Organization of Political Machinery 75 

Viscount Bryce in his notable study of The American Com- 
monwealth has pointed out that the individual citizen has 
far more points of contact with the state than state 
with the national government. Until recently P roblems - 
the national government never taxed him directly, as did 
the state government through the general property tax. 
Laws of marriage and divorce are made by the individual 
commonwealths. Similarly, health and education are state 
functions. The county courts of the individual states han- 
dle the great mass of litigation, and the punishment of 
crime is generally within their jurisdiction. The same is 
true of public charities, but here the local authorities are 
important. Just as it is often difficult to draw an arbitrary 
line between the functions of the national and the state 
governments, so it is sometimes hard to separate the work 
of the state government from that of the various units of 
local government within the state. Not only is there over- 
lapping of authority, but also that gradual process of politi- 
cal concentration. This may also be regarded as an 
adjustment of the political machinery to meet the needs 
of changing economic and social conditions. For the most 
part, however, the great mass of economic legislation in 
the field of labor problems, working conditions, child labor, 
and social insurance is within the province of the individual 
states. Our study of the problems of citizenship is made 
more difficult by the fact that the laws upon a given sub- 
ject are so different in the various states. Although this 
fact results in lack of uniformity, it permits individual 
states to experiment with various remedies for social 
maladjustments. Thus, Kansas, Wisconsin, and other 
western states have been interesting laboratories for the 
student of civic problems. 



76 Problems of American Democracy 

Separation of Powers. — Not only is there a division 

of function between the national and state governments, 

but there is also a separation of powers between 

Legislative. . . 

the three great divisions of each government. 
Montesquieu, another eighteenth century French philos- 
opher, drew a line of distinction between the executive, the 
legislative, and the judicial branches of government, which 
found its way into the American constitution. This prin- 
ciple was followed in the various state constitutions and 
often in the charters of city governments. The Constitu- 
tion of the United States, in pursuance of this principle, 
vests the law-making power in the hands of Congress. 
After considerable discussion a two-chambered house was 
accepted as more desirable than a unicameral body. This 
bicameral model was also followed by the state constitu- 
tions and, unfortunately, by many city charters where it 
served merely to weaken responsibility. A national com- 
promise was reached between the large and small states in 
determining upon the constitution of these two houses. 
The membership in the House of Representatives was to 
be apportioned among the states according to population, 
but in the Senate each state was to have two senators 
irrespective of its size or population. 

The Constitution, unlike the Articles of Confederation, 
provided for a president as the chief executive. It was his 

duty to see that the laws of Congress were en- 
Executive. 

forced. He possessed a veto, but Congress could 

pass a law over this veto by a two-thirds majority. Simi- 
larly, the state constitutions provided for an executive in 
the form of a governor. Colonial experience with pro- 
vincial governors made the early fathers very jealous of 
the powers of the executive. Early state constitutions, 



The Organization of Political Machinery 77 

therefore, granted very limited powers to the governors. 
The faith placed in the legislature weakened as time went 
on and, on the other hand, the powers of the executive 
gradually gained in both state and nation. The earlier 
method of electing a president was soon changed by con- 
stitutional amendment. Instead of the second highest 
candidate becoming vice-president, the development of 
political parties made it advisable for a distinct presidential 
and a distinct vice-presidential candidate to run on each 
ticket. The framers of the Constitution devised a system 
of electoral colleges to prevent the direct election of a 
president by the people. To-day the work of the presiden- 
tial electors is purely formal, but under this system it is 
possible for a candidate to have a plurality of the electoral 
vote without having a majority of the popular vote. 

The Constitution of the United States further provided 
that the judicial power should be vested in one Supreme 
Court and in as many inferior courts as Con- 
gress shall from time to time ordain and estab- 
lish. The members are appointed for life by the president 
upon the approval of the Senate. The function of the 
judiciary is to interpret the laws by means of what we call 
test cases. We have seen how the Supreme Court passes 
upon the constitutionality of a law. There is a similar state 
judiciary in each of the commonwealths to perform similar 
functions for the state. 

The legislative, executive, and judicial functions of gov- 
ernment were placed in three supposedly distinct depart- 
ments. This separation of powers was to be checks and 
reenforced by a system of checks and balances. balances - 
The aim was to prevent one branch of the government from 
encroaching upon another, and becoming so powerful as to 



78 Problems of American Democracy 

threaten individual liberty and the preservation of demo- 
cratic institutions. For example, although the president 
had a veto upon the laws of Congress, that body had the 
right to impeach him. By their appointing power the 
president and the Senate could control the personnel of the 
Supreme Court, but the latter had the power of passing 
upon the constitutionality of the laws made by Congress. 
Hence the separation of powers between the three funda- 
mental departments has not been so great as has been fre- 
quently claimed. By the device of checks and balances it 
was hoped that the mistaken policies, or undemocratic 
tendencies, of one department could be curbed by the 
other two departments. It has, however, just as frequently 
tended to confuse responsibility and to make for political 
dead-locks. Out of this situation has grown the political 
party, which has assumed the responsibility for enacting 
legislation. The English system has no such separation of 
powers and the cabinet combines both the executive and 
the legislative functions. The courts are merely divisions 
of the executive department, for we have seen that there is 
no question regarding the constitutionality of an act of 
Parliament. A recent writer upon American government 
would substitute for the former three-fold division of gov- 
ernmental functions a two-fold division. This plan would 
differentiate only between the political and the adminis- 
trative functions of government. The political function is 
that of making the laws and should be exercised through 
the elected, representative spokesmen of public opinion. 
The administrative functions imply the carrying out of 
these laws in the most efficient manner and should be exer- 
cised by a group of expert officials chosen largely by some 
form of Civil Service examinations. 



The Organization of Political Machinery 79 

The American cabinet is a very different institution from 
the British cabinet. The American cabinet-members are 
administrative officers, the heads of their de- _ 

Compari- 

partments, and the advisors of the president, son with 
The British cabinet-members may be in charge cabinet 
of administrative departments, but they are also 
members of Parliament possessing legislative as well as 
executive functions. The prime minister and his cabinet 
are known as "the government" and they outline the 
national political policy. The ministry continues in 
power so long as it can command a majority vote in Parlia- 
ment. If defeated upon an important issue, the cabinet 
resigns. A new prime minister forms a new cabinet from 
the party in power in Parliament. If the defeated ministry, 
however, feels that Parliament does not represent correctly 
the public opinion of the nation, it may appeal to the 
country for a new election. Thus, a parliamentary election 
may be held at any time upon an important issue, and 
cabinet ministries are short or long-lived according to the 
degree in which they reflect the national public opinion. 
In America presidential elections are held regularly every 
four years and congressional elections every two years. It 
has been objected that our method is less apt to secure an 
immediate expression of public opinion upon a definite 
political issue. The English parliamentary system is the 
result of a long political evolution, representing a succession 
of social adjustments. It has become the model for the 
British self-governing colonies and has also influenced the 
constitutional development of continental Europe. Some 
Latin American republics have followed the model of the 
American system, while other have attempted to combine 
some features of both systems. 



80 Problems of American Democracy 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

i. What do you understand by the unwritten constitution of 
Great Britain? 

2. What are its advantages and disadvantages as compared with 
the written constitution of the United States? 

3. In what way may the constitution of the United States be 
amended? 

4. Give illustrations of federal and centralized governments. 

5. Name some of the functions and problems of the national 
government. 

6. Do the same for the state government. 

7. Show the concentration of power that has gradually taken 
place. 

8. Explain and illustrate the system of checks and balances. 

9. How has it worked out in practice? 

10. Trace and criticize our method of electing a president. 

11. It has been said that the courts help to make the law in 
America. Explain. 

12. Differentiate between the political and administrative func- 
tions of government. 

13. Do you regard this distinction as superior to the older three- 
fold division of governmental functions? Why or why not? 

14. Compare the English cabinet with our own. 

15. What would an Englishman understand by a " change of 
government." Show how it operates. 

16. In what way is the British Government superior and in what 
ways inferior to our own? 

17. In what ways is the British system more democratic and in 
what ways is it less democratic than our own? 

18. Are all republics necessarily democracies? Why or why not? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The Constitutions and social progress. 

2. The separation of powers in theory and practice. 

3. A comparison of Congressional and Parliamentary forms of 
government. 

4. Constitutional guarantees of liberty. 



The Organization of Political Machinery 81 

5. The evolution of the English cabinet, — a study in adjustment. 

6. Imitation of the American Constitution. 

REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics. 

Bryce, J. The American Commonwealth. 

Bryce, J. Modem Democracies. 

Goodnow, F. J. Politics and Administration. 

Magruder, F. A. American Government in IQ21. 

Ogg, F. A. Governments of Europe. 

Wilson, W. The State. Congressional Government. 

Young, J. T. The New American Government and Its Work. 



CHAPTER VIII 

The Political Machinery in Motion 

I. Functions of government 

i . Their evolution and adjustment 

2. Older attitude 

3. The transition 

4. The social ideal 
II. Duties of citizenship 

1. Military service 

2. Taxation 

3. Civic responsibilities 
III. Government at work 

1 . Public opinion 

2. Political parties 

3. The legislative process : 

a. Organization of the legislature 

b. Course of a bill 

c. Appropriation bills 

Functions of Government. — A study of the organi- 
zation of the political machinery is of little value un- 
. less it helps to explain the functioning of the 

and ad- government. Organized government exists to do 

justment. . . 

things for a cooperative society. I he more co- 
operative the society, the more complex is the governmental 
machinery. In forms of government, as in forms of life, 
there is an evolution from the simple to the complex. The 
functions of government have been constantly increasing 



The Political Machinery in Motion 83 

as the State has grown from a wandering tribe of shepherds 
to a great industrial nation. The recognized functions of 
the State are constantly changing and present a continuous 
problem of adjustment. Burning heretics was a legitimate 
function of the State in the Middle Ages, but modern times 
have brought not only religious liberty but also the separa- 
tion of Church and State. Each generation must ask itself 
again the question: What are the legitimate functions of 
the State? Although the names are frequently confused, 
the anarchist and the socialist have very different answers 
to this question. The anarchist is dangerous to society be- 
cause he does not admit the fundamental functions and 
powers of the State. He would destroy the political organ- 
ization of society. The socialist, on the other hand, would 
extend the functions of the State to include the ownership 
and operation of the means of production. Between these 
two opposite poles are many different shades of opinion as 
to the legitimate functions of the State. 

The police power of the State, which is fundamental, is 
the starting point of its functions. Society is organized 
politically for the purpose of protection against The older 
internal disorder and against foreign invasion. attitude - 
Additional responsibilities the State was at first loath to 
assume. This was the attitude of writers a century ago. 
Adam Smith published his Wealth of Nations in 1776, 
which thereby became an important date in economic as 
well as in political history. He protested against the gov- 
ernmental regulations advocated by the older group of 
economists known as the Mercantilists. For illustration, 
he favored free trade and asserted that, without govern- 
mental interference in industry, society is guided by an 
"invisible hand" toward its own best interests. The "in- 



84 Problems of American Democracy 

visible hand" is self-interest and free competition. This 
attitude has been called that of laissez faire or "let alone." 
To this school belonged the great sociologist, Herbert 
Spencer, who believed that natural selection should be 
given freer play in organized society. He had great con- 
tempt for social reforms through legislation, asserting that 
Parliament passed laws only to repeal them later. 

However, after a century of experiment, laissez faire or 
individualism has been tried in the balance and found 
The transi- wanting. The world is now in a period of transi- 
tion toward another stage of development which 
we may call that of social welfare. Under the laissez faire 
or "let alone" system of politics the women of England 
toiled under an industrial day of twelve and fourteen hours, 
while "the bitter cry of the children" made government 
regulation imperative. In our own day groups of indi- 
viduals have monopolized and exploited for their personal 
gain the free gifts of nature so that the voice of the socialist 
and the single-taxer is heard throughout the land. Anti- 
trust laws, interstate commerce acts, and industrial and 
price-fixing regulations begin to give us the shock of dawn- 
ing paternalism. Regulation has become necessary be- 
cause the life of mankind is a group life; no man is a law 
unto himself. It is right for men to exercise the rights of 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness only when such 
action does not interfere with the corresponding rights of 
others. Thus, intemperance is no longer a matter of in- 
dividual concern but of social regulation, because the fami- 
lies of such unfortunates are not only deprived of their rights 
to life and the pursuit of happiness but also because they 
become an additional charge on the public expense. Again, 
the tipsy engineer holds the lives of hundreds of others in 



The Political Machinery in Motion 85 

the balance. The frontiersman of yesterday slaughtered 
his own cattle and baked his own bread, but to-day, the 
city consumer serves upon his table articles of food pre- 
pared in many distant places, by many different hands. 
Hence pure food laws become necessary to social welfare. 
Society has found it necessary to protect itself against the 
extreme individualist whether he be monopolist, drunkard, 
or food adulterator. 

Democracy and liberty for all are not assured until every 
individual in society has done his duty toward other mem- 
bers of the group. The individual and the State The social 
are reciprocal. Each exists for the benefit of ldea1, 
the other, and their interests must harmonize if social wel- 
fare is to be attained. The modern idea of cooperation is 
the antithesis of laissez /aire and of medieval isolation. 
This ideal of social welfare has been called the twentieth 
century spirit of Christianity, for it teaches that, in a sense, 
each man is his brother's keeper. Voluntary cooperation 
is the highest form of social control in a democracy. The 
extreme Prussian concept of the State, on the other hand, 
was that the individual existed for the State, and not the 
State for the individual. It enforced cooperation and 
finally, like the fiery Moloch, demanded its bloody sacrifice. 
Some writers claim, however, that the state socialism of 
Germany improved conditions among the laboring classes. 
An efficient bureaucracy carried the elaborate state func- 
tions into the lives of the individual citizens to an extent 
unknown in Great Britain or America. The Anglo-Saxon 
would have regarded such paternalism at best as "benevo- 
lent despotism." 

Duties of Citizenship. — Since the State and the in- 
dividual exist for the benefit of each other, their obligations 



86 Problems of American Democracy 

are mutual. When a State can no longer protect its citi- 
zens it ceases to exist. When the German tribes began 
Military to roam at will through the Roman Empire, 
the days of Rome were numbered. Feudalism 
succeeded the "pax Romana", which had given protection 
for centuries to the civilized world. In the same manner, 
American citizenship should carry protection to our citi- 
zens traveling in all parts of the world. Such security has 
its price, and the citizen therefore owes allegiance to the 
State. In a great national crisis this takes the form of 
military service. In the olden days of feudalism the 
mutual obligations of lord and vassal were real and per- 
sonal as shown in the stirring lines of Sir Walter Scott: 
"When flies the cross from man to man, 
Vich-Alpin's summons to his clan, 
Burst be the ear that fails to heed, 
Palsied the knee that fails to speed." 
In the recent World War the national government sent 
a similar summons to the manhood of America. On a 
given day, ten million men registered for military ser- 
vice before the various draft boards throughout the 
United States. 

Less romantic is the duty of the citizen to pay taxes. In 

earlier times these obligations took the form of personal 

services. Thus, the vassal fought for his lord 

Taxation. ' . ° 

and the serf worked in his field. Gradually these 
services took the form of money payments. Scutage, for 
illustration, was a shield tax in lieu of military service. 
With the great recent growth in governmental functions 
there has been a similar growth in taxation. The wars of 
civilization are far more destructive and costly than those 
of more primitive peoples. At the present time, therefore, 



The Political Machinery in Motion 87 

about nine-tenths of our taxes go to pay the expenses of 
wars, past, present, and future. 

Finally it is the duty of every citizen to take an active 
and intelligent interest in his government, national, state 
and local. There are many "slacker" voters _. . 

J Civic re- 

who do not go to the polls. Instead, they merely sponsibiii- 
criticize destructively, from easy chairs at home, 
the men and parties in power. There is need for the citizen 
in action, in peace as well as in war. Government is a 
human product and no better or worse than the men and 
women who compose it. Democracy may be inefficient and 
at tirnes corrupt, but the only cure for the ills of democracy 
is more democracy. The Greeks had an exalted sense of 
civic responsibility toward their city states. The Roman 
had a noble patriotism and political genius in dealing with 
the problems of empire. The Anglo-Saxon, however, 
added the development of representative institutions 
which the democracies of antiquity never evolved. Rep- 
resentative government can only succeed with an active 
and informed citizenship working incessantly for the good 
of the State. 

Government at Work. — Public opinion is a form of 
social control which finally expresses itself in law. Law is 
more static, however, than public opinion. p u bii c 
Many laws upon our statute books do not repre- °P imon - 
sent the social mind of to-day, but rather the public opin- 
ion of a generation ago. Again, every fluctuating change 
in public opinion does not crystallize into law. Public 
opinion, however, is a relatively permanent expression of 
the group mind, as compared with its reflection in crowd 
psychology. Folkways and the customs of the group in- 
fluence the character of public opinion. The degree of 



88 Problems of A merican Democracy 

popular intelligence and education is important, for with- 
out them there cannot be a real public opinion. This re- 
quires that each individual should think for himself without 
being unduly swayed by the influence of suggestion. Such 
is the aim of education in a democracy. It is vicious for a 
nation to use its educational system to mould future pub- 
lic opinion in any one pattern. Germany possessed an 
excellent educational machine but deliberately used it 
for the manufacture of a certain type of "Kultur." The 
final result was to prevent the growth of a public 
opinion which might have checked the unfortunate policy 
of that nation. Newspapers have a very important effect 
upon the development of public opinion in America. Un- 
fortunately these are frequently biased, or at least reflect 
but one point of view. Many American families read but 
one paper and buy ready-made opinion upon matters of 
the day. There are thousands of private associations 
existing for the purpose of moulding public opinion upon 
various matters. Campaigns of publicity, similar to those 
of advertising, seek to incline public opinion toward such 
matters as the open shop or a higher tariff. A Single Tax 
League may work strenuously in another direction. Lob- 
bies are organized efforts, not merely to color public opinion 
in general, but to influence legislators to act favorably upon 
their interests. 

Political parties are institutions for getting the public 
opinion of the majority written into law. Their rapid 
Political development; was not foreseen by the fathers who 
parties. framed the constitution. Like England, but un- 
like the continent of Europe, America has had a two-party 
system. European cabinets are coalition cabinets, that is, 
they are made up of ministers of various parties. An 



The Political Machinery in Motion 89 

English cabinet, however, is usually made up solidly of 
ministers from the one party in power. It is known as 
"the government," and the other party as "the opposi- 
tion." There are several minor parties in America, but 
the bulk of the nation is divided into Democrats and Re- 
publicans. As early as Washington's administration a 
party in opposition to the government arose in the Anti- 
Federalists. Under the name of the Democratic-Republi- 
cans they triumphed under Jefferson. The Jeffersonian 
democracy evolved into that of Jackson's administration. 
With "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," the Whigs had a short- 
lived success which broke the steady succession of demo- 
cratic presidents. The great issues of slavery and the 
preservation of the union loomed up on the horizon of the 
Civil War, and the modern Republican party emerged 
under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln. Since that time 
economic quesions, such as the tariff and the currency, 
have occupied the great political arena. Each presidential 
election is a campaign of popular education for the voter. 
Party platforms are drawn up, which contain the articles 
of faith of each group upon the questions of the day. Each 
party points with pride to its own achievements and views 
with alarm the tendencies of its opponents. Political par- 
ties are good in so far as they stimulate and crystallize 
public opinion. They are bad in so far as they develop a 
machine organization to which the voter owes absolute 
allegiance and to which he sacrifices his political inde- 
pendence. Frequently the question is not one of public 
policy, but one of men and patronage, that is, control over 
the public offices. The extension of the national party 
lines to local matters is unfortunate, because the issues 
frequently have nothing in common. 



9° 



Problems of American Democracy 




The Political Machinery in Motion 91 

Party lines are rather strictly drawn in the legislative 
assemblies. When an important matter comes up for 
action a party caucus may be held. The major- 

• * ■ The lGSfis— 

ity party, sitting alone and unofficially, may lative 
thus determine the fate of a bill. When this bill P rocess: 

Organization 

later comes up officially in the regular session °f the 

legislature. 

of the legislature, the majority party formally 
votes for or against it as previously determined in the 
caucus. The voice of the people theoretically expresses 
itself through their elected representatives. In voting yea 
or nay on a proposed bill the legislator is expected to ex- 
press the desires of his constituents. His voting record is 
generally made public in reelection campaigns. The legis- 
lative process by which bills become laws is important to 
the student of social problems. The method of procedure 
of the national Congress is fairly typical of that followed 
by the individual states. The committee organization is a 
fundamental principle of our legislative policy. There are 
various committees in both houses, such as the committee 
on rules and that on the eligibility of members. Among 
the most important committees is the Committee on Fin- 
ance in the Senate and the Ways and Means Committee 
in the House of Representatives, where bills for raising 
revenue must originate. The vice-president of the United 
States presides over the Senate, but the speaker of the 
House of Representatives is elected by the members. This 
model has been followed in many of the commonwealths. 
The speaker of the House of Representatives was formerly 
a more important figure than he is to-day, because he has 
largely lost his power of appointing committees. Both the 
two great parties have their floor leaders, who are im- 
portant persons in the legislative assemblies. They at- 



92 Problems of American Democracy 

tempt to control the parliamentary maneuvers of their 
respective party members. 

Every legislative session is flooded with bills, many of 
which never get beyond the "pickling" committees. Suc- 
Courseof cessful bills are generally those of the adminis- 
abllL tration in power and have the support of the 

party leaders before they are introduced. A bill may be 
introduced by any member of the legislature, after which 
it is numbered, duly recorded, and ordered to be printed. 
After its introduction, a bill is referred to the proper com- 
mittee which later reports back upon it to the house. 
There are three successive readings of a bill, during one of 
which it is discussed section by section. The debate is 
often long and tedious. Many amendments may be added, 
so that the original character of the bill may be greatly 
changed. If the bill is finally passed it is then sent to the 
other house where a similar course is followed. Here it may 
be rejected or sent back to the first house with a new set 
of amendments. For this reason a joint conference com- 
mittee for the two houses is sometimes necessary to secure 
the final passage of the bill by the legislature. The final 
step is the securing of the signature of the executive. To- 
ward the end of a legislative session there is considerable 
pressure to get bills through, and the result of this hasty 
legislation is frequently reflected in the inferior character 
of the laws. "Riders" may be added or "joker" clauses 
inserted, which vitiate the original purpose of the bill. 
Some states have instituted bureaus, whose personnel is 
composed of legal experts, in order to insure a more careful 
phrasing of the laws. 

Appropriation bills are of a special character. For their 
discussion the house generally resolves itself into a com- 



The Political Machinery in Motion 93 

mittee of the whole. Here the fight is often strenuous, 
because individual members seek to prevent particular 
appropriations from being cut. In addition, the Appropria- 
evils of "log rolling" are here apparent. On tionbuls - 
the eve of adjournment compromises are effected, and a 
flood of appropriation bills is passed, which involves 
enormous expenditures of money. Too often appropriation 
bills are considered separately and no attempt is made to 
balance income and expenditure. To remedy this situation 
the national government has recently introduced the budget 
system under which the various departments of government 
make out estimates of their expenses for the coming year. 
A proper balance can then be struck according to relative 
needs and importance. Against the sum total of expenses 
can be placed the probable income for the next year from 
all sources of revenue. By such a scheme wasteful and ex- 
travagant appropriations can be cut down so that the work 
of the essential branches of the government need not suffer 
from lack of funds. An effective budget system is neces- 
sary to financial efficiency in nation, state, and city. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Show how there has been an evolution of governmental func- 
tions from the simple to the complex. 

2. Contrast the anarchist with the socialist. 

3. What are the essential functions of the State? 

4. What views did the laissez-faire theorists hold? Who were 
some of these writers? 

5. Why was this theory abandoned? 

6. What do you understand by paternalism? 

7. Upon what basis would you compromise between the two 
extremes? 

8. Why is extreme individualism impossible to-day? 

9. Explain the new social ideal. 



94 Problems of American Democracy 

10. What obligations does the State owe the individual? 
ir. What obligations does the individual owe the State? 

12. What is public opinion? Contrast with mob spirit. 

13. How can an intelligent public opinion be fostered? 

14. What social institutions and instruments are important in 
America? 

15. What are political parties and their functions? 

16. What are some dangers and evils of their organization? 

17. In what respect does party organization in America resemble 
that of England rather than that of the continent of Europe? 

18. Discuss the campaign platform of some political party. 

19. What social maladjustments has legislation attempted to 
remedy? 

20. Sketch the organization of the legislature. 

21. Show the successive steps by which a bill becomes a law. 

22. Compare the "appropriations" system with the "budget" 
system. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1 . New functions of government and the increasing cost. 

2. The separation of Church and State. 

3. The laissez-faire theory. 

4. The paternalism of the German government. 

5. A sound budget system. 

6. The party platforms in the last presidential election. 

7. Public opinion as a means of social control. 

REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics. 
Bryce, J. The American Commonwealth. 

Modern Democracies. 
Goodnow, F. J. Politics and Administration. 
Magruder, F. A. American Government in IQ2I. 
Ogg, F. A. Governments of Europe. 
Wilson, W. The State. 
Young, J. T. The New American Government and Its Work. 



CHAPTER IX 

A Century of Political Evolution 

I. An expanding nation 
i . Westward Ho ! 

2. The frontier and democracy 

3. The triumph of nationalism 

4. From an agrarian to an industrial democracy 
II. New forces at work 

1 . Woman suffrage 

2. Direct election of senators 

3. Extension of Civil Service Reform 

4. The short ballot 

5. The initiative and referendum 

6. Recall of judicial decisions 

7. Direct primaries 
III. The problem of empire 

1 . Earlier isolation 

2. The Spanish-American War 

3. The World War 

An Expanding Nation. — The western boundary of 
the newly emancipated nation was the Mississippi River, 
but at first population clung to the Atlantic sea- westward 
board. In early days the Appalachian moun- °" 
tains had been an effective barrier, but the close of the 
eighteenth century saw hardy pioneers crossing them and 
braving the unknown wilderness to the Wept. Here great 
rolling prairies, covered only with grass, made it unnec- 
essary to clear the forest in order to plant crops. Conse- 

95 



96 Problems of American Democracy 

quently the western migration attained rapid results. The 
movement was aided by immigration from Europe attracted 
by the abundance of free land. The national and state 
governments vied with each other in the building of roads 
and canals. The Louisiana Purchase extended our boun- 
daries from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains^ 
Later Texas came into the Union, and the war with Mexico 
added the great southwestern section. The Oregon Treaty 
with Great Britain and the earlier purchase of Florida from 
Spain rounded out our present continental territory. The 
Lewis and Clark Expedition told of an unexplored empire, 
rich in all sorts of natural resources. Again, the discovery 
of gold in California gave a still greater impetus to the 
western migration. "The forty-niners" were the van- 
guard of the long continuous trail of "prairie schooners" 
which slowly made their way across what was then called 
"the Great American Desert." The character and place 
of these pioneers in American history has been well pic- 
tured in the poem of Walt Whitman. 

The frontier has had an important influence in shaping 
the character and evolution of American democracy. Im- 
migration has been called a selective process which picks 
„., , out the stronger and more restless elements in a 

The fron- . b 

tier and population. In the melting pot of the New World, 

democracy. . 

European races, creeds, and classes mingled 
together to form a new national character. European 
traditions and castes were more easily sloughed off in the 
freer air of the new society. We have seen how the new 
England was able to perceive earlier than the old England 
that taxation without representation was tyranny. After 
our own independence had been achieved, the new nation 
watched with mingled emotions the progress of the French 



A Century of Political Evolution 97 

Revolution. The Jeffersonian democracy was swept into 
power upon such transplanted phrases as " liberty, equality, 
and fraternity." It was a repudiation of the aristocratic as 
well as of the centralizing tendencies of the Federalists. 
The knee trousers, silk stockings, and powdered wigs of 
the early fathers disappeared from American political and 
social life. The Jacksonian democracy was more extreme 
than that of Jefferson's day. It was a native frontier 
product and represented the political triumph of the back- 
woodsman. This element continued through later Amer- 
ican history and the rail splitter, Abraham Lincoln, went 
to the White House. 

A continental nation stretching from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific Ocean was but a dream in the earlier part of 
the nineteenth century. The wisdom, as well 
as the constitutionality, of the Louisiana Pur- triumph of 

nationalism. 

chase was debated by Jefferson when he consid- 
ered how long it would take a representative from the extreme 
West to go to Washington and return. The inventions of 
the locomotive and the steamboat have changed the entire 
situation and made the dreams of a century ago come 
true. Railroads have bound the states together with 
bands of steel. Mountains have been tunneled and great 
rivers crossed by the new engineering science. The tele- 
graph and the telephone flash news immediately across the 
continent. There is another side to the story, however, for, 
during our earlier history, the dark shadow of slavery had 
thrown itself across the union. The geographical character 
of the country made slavery unprofitable in the North but 
tended to fasten it upon the South. The invention of the 
cotton gin increased the demand for raw cotton which was 
picked by slave labor. The Missouri Compromise in 1820 

H 



98 Problems of American Democracy 

sounded the first ominous note, when the advocates of 
slavery demanded its territorial extension. The Mexican 
War brought into the Union more slave territory and 
helped preserve temporarily the balance between the free 
and slave states. Meanwhile the institution of slavery was 
intrenching itself behind the doctrine of states rights. Was 
the union a federation with sovereignty residing in the 
nation, or was it merely a confederation with sovereignty 
residing in the individual states? Calhoun defended the 
theory of states rights and Webster the cause of national- 
ism. As sectionalism increased it became more apparent 
that a " house divided against itself " could not stand. The 
secession of South Carolina and the attack upon Fort 
Sumter marked the opening of hostilities. When Lincoln 
issued his Emancipation Proclamation he made the cause 
of "liberty and union one and inseparable," which the 
victory of the federal troops guaranteed. The surrender 
at Appomattox Court House ended one period in American 
history and ushered in a new era of national development. 
The great political questions following the Civil War and 
Reconstruction period were largely economic in their 
character. Different interests and varied classes 
agrarian to began to clash in later legislative battles. The 
democracy. new figures of capital and labor appeared in the 
political arena. The old agricultural society had 
developed new commercial and industrial interests. A 
small, simple, agrarian democracy had developed into a 
huge, industrial democracy. This evolution from the sim- 
ple to the complex made necessary political, as well as 
social and economic, adjustments. What does democracy 
mean in the new era of the railroad, the corporation, and 
"big business"? After the freedom of the black slaves was 



A Century of Political Evolution 99 

secured, there was yet a problem of liberty and equality 
in a society which permitted child labor and sweat shops. 
A growth and concentration of wealth had taken place 
which threatened the very foundations of democracy. 
There was also a geographical concentration of population in 
great cities, whose political corruption made them sore spots 
upon the body politic. The political center of gravity had 
shifted from the farming groups to the business interests. 
New Forces at Work. — A number of new political in- 
fluences and tendencies appeared within the nation in the 
period following the Civil War. A few typical woman 
illustrations follow. In the first place, the suffrage, 
electorate was expanded by the introduction of new groups 
of voters. The fifteenth amendment to the constitution 
made the negro a voter, but the later introduction of edu- 
cational tests throughout the South often deprived him 
of his new privilege. In colonial days the franchise was 
much restricted by property qualifications, which, however, 
disappeared in the early days of the new republic. After 
the Civil War several western states withdrew the sex bar- 
rier and permitted women to vote. As early as 1869 women 
were given the ballot in Wyoming, but the movement 
spread slowly until the Progressive campaign of 191 2. 
Great economic changes had brought women into the com- 
mercial and industrial world and had made more glaring 
the injustice of their political disfranchisement. The op- 
ponents of the new movement gradually shifted their 
ground from that of justice to that of political expediency. 
Under the leadership of a number of determined women, 
however, the nineteenth amendment was passed which 
marks the successful culmination of their valiant fight for 
e nf r anchisement . 



IOO 



Problems of American Democracy 




Women Victorious — at the Polls 



Direct 
election of 
senators. 



The seventeenth amendment had already provided for 
the direct election by the people of United States senators. 
Previously they had been elected by the legis- 
latures of the various states. Several political 
scandals had served to uproot the faith once 
held in elected legislatures. The Senate was denounced 
by some of its bold critics as an "American oligarchy." 
There grew up a demand that the senators should be elected 
by, and hence directly responsible to, the people. Thus, 
the method of electing senators changed from the former 
indirect method to the present direct method of election by 
the people. 

The assassination of President Garfield by a disappointed 
office seeker hastened the national adoption of Civil Ser- 



A Century of Political Evolution 101 

vice Reform. Again, the cry for efficiency in govern- 
mental departments demanded that applicants be appoint- 
ed according to some recognized test of fitness, 
rather than according to allegiance to the Service 

. . Reform. 

political machine. This movement was not 
confined to the national government, but spread to 
the state and especially to the city governments. The 
Spoils System had given an immense amount of patron- 
age to the party in power, who filled the public . offices 
with its own followers. These latter were, in turn, 
expected to get votes for the political organization. Out 
of such a system was evolved the political boss. The early 
introduction of civil service tests was made more difficult 
by the tradition that rotation in office was more democratic. 
This belief had come down from the days of Jackson, 
when it was felt that one citizen was nearly as well fitted as 
any other for a public trust. The increase of governmental 
functions and the technical nature of much recent work of 
the State render such a view no longer tenable. The ad- 
ministrative work of government has been separated into 
specialized bureaus, under the direction of experts. Here 
efficiency is needed, not politics. Hence the need for civil 
service measurements. 

The introduction of the Australian or secret ballot was 
a great step forward in our political evolution. At present, 
in addition to this, the so-called short ballot is The short 
being strongly advocated. This is made neces- baUot 
sary because the earlier democratic tendencies increased the 
number of elective offices. Longer and longer ballots are 
placed before the voter, who is asked to make a selection of 
men whom he does not know for offices concerning which 
he is unfamiliar. This has hindered rather than helped 



102 Problems of American Democracy 

the cause of democracy, because it has made for what is 
known as "hide and seek" politics. It is evidently better 
to vote for but a few important officers with whose record 
the voter can be familiar. They should be given the power 
to appoint their subordinates, for whose character and work 
they can be held strictly accountable at the next election. 
This is known as the principle of fixing responsibility. 
The long ballot has been called the politician's ballot and 
the short ballot, the people's ballot. 

The functions of the electorate have also been enlarged 

by such devices as the initiative, referendum, and recall. 

These take various forms in different states and 

Initiative ... . 

and cities. The referendum is a device which 

renders necessary the consent of the people for 
a particular piece of legislation. It was first used for 
constitutional changes, but later for such important 
public matters as the floating of bonded indebtedness. 
For these and other purposes ratification at the polls by 
the general electorate is sought. The initiative permits 
the originating of a piece of legislation by the people directly. 
A bill may be drawn up by a number of private citizens. 
If the signatures of a sufficient number of voters are secured, 
the bill must be voted upon by the legislature, or submitted 
to the people at large by the use of the referendum. Both 
the initiative and referendum are illustrations of direct 
legislation, that is, legislation by the citizens themselves 
rather than by their elected representatives. It is a 
modern attempt to return to pure, rather than represent- 
ative, democracy. 

The conservatism of the courts, as reflected in many 
judicial decisions, is responsible for the movement known 
as the recall or, more properly, the review of judicial 



A Century of Political Evolution 103 

decisions. This is a device which permits the people to 
vote upon the social desirability of certain judicial decis- 
ions. If the vote is unfavorable, the judicial de- 
cision is recalled. Such an extreme step is advo- of judicial 

decisions. 

cated upon the ground that court interpreta- 
tions really make law, whereas the people themselves 
should be able to decide the constitutionality of their acts. 
Hence the need for some popular check upon the courts. 
To many thinkers such a step is too drastic, because it 
takes from the courts their particular function of interpre- 
tation and no longer renders them capable of making 
independent decisions according to their own view of the 
law. They believe the wiser plan, although the slower 
course, would be for public opinion to express itself, 
through the legislature, by making changes in the laws. 
If necessary, even the process of constitutional amend- 
ment may be resorted to. The recall, however, has been 
applied with more approval to the acts of officials in the 
local government units. 

Political parties were extra-constitutional developments 
and at first were ignored by the law. Finally, it was found 
necessary to recognize them legally in order to Direct 
cope with gross evils which had developed. P nmanes - 
The nomination of political party candidates by a few of 
the "bosses," sitting in some back room, could no longer 
be tolerated by a quickened public conscience. Hence the 
development of the primary movement. A primary, or 
rather a primary election, is one in which the various 
political parties nominate their candidates. The states 
pass laws concerning the primary and the method of 
nominating party candidates. Primary elections are now 
frequently conducted in the regular polling places by the 



104 Problems of American Democracy 

regular election officers. In order to vote in the primary 
an individual must state his previous party affiliations. 
This merely means that at the last election he voted for 
at least a majority of the candidates of the party to which 
he belongs. The voter is then given the ballot of the 
party in which he registers. This contains a number of 
nominations for each office and the successful candidate 
for a particular office is then the party nominee. A citizen 
can have his name put on the ballot of his party by securing 
a sufficient number of signatures. 

The Problem of Empire.— The keynote of early 
American foreign policy was struck in the farewell address 
Earlier of our first president, who was familiar with 

isoation. European national jealousies and warned the 
new nation to keep free from entangling alliances. Such a 
policy was attempted during the titanic struggle between 
England and Napoleonic France. Neutral America, how- 
ever, was caught between these two warring giants and 
suffered indignities which finally led to the War of 1812. 
Meanwhile, Latin America, under such national leaders 
as Bolivar, had succeeded in throwing off the Spanish 
yoke and founding a number of independent republics. 
The Spanish attempt at reconquest failed, although it 
seemed likely for a time that the Holy Alliance might 
intervene in America as it had done in Europe. The Holy 
Alliance was an understanding between Russia, Prussia 
and Austria under the leadership of Metternich. It had 
the purpose of maintaining the "status quo" and possibly 
of returning to conditions existing prior to the French 
Revolution. England regarded with suspicion the work 
of the Holy Alliance and suggested joint action with 
America. The United States, however, preferred inde- 



A Century of Political Evolution 105 

pendent action and President Monroe issued the famous 
doctrine which bears his name. The new world was no 
longer to be regarded as a fit place for European coloniza- 
tion. Any attempt to extend her political system here 
would be regarded as an unfriendly act. The Monroe 
Doctrine was put to a real test when Louis Napoleon 
sought to realize his dream of a Mexican empire. Upon 
the conclusion of the Civil War, however, the French troops 
were withdrawn from America at the request of the United 
States. The Monroe Doctrine has been variously inter- 
preted at various times. While we have warned Europeans 
from interference in the New World, we have striven to be 
consistent by not participating in European affairs. 
Although a cherished American tradition, European powers 
have refused to recognize the Monroe Doctrine as any 
part of international law. Then, too, powerful nations 
have developed in South America who resent what they 
regard as a patronizing attitude on the part of the 
"Colossus of the North." 

The Spanish-American War marked a new epoch in our 
history, because the United States became a world power 
for the first time. In the Far East the New 
World came face to face with the Old World, spanish- 
The Philippine Islands and Porto Rico were w^. rican 
taken over from Spain, while the annexation of 
Hawaii had taken place earlier. Cuba was the ward of 
the United States, but she later became an independent 
republic. New political problems arose with the growth 
of empire. What was the legal status of these island 
peoples? Did not citizenship follow the flag? Again, 
there was the cry for independence from the Philippines. 
But it is difficult to decide when a people is ready for self- 



106 Problems of American Democracy 

government, and dangerous to set them adrift before that 

time. Meanwhile, schools, hospitals, and roads have been 

built, and America has sought to carry civilization into a 

far corner of the earth. 

Great colonial expansion by all the world powers had 

taken place during the last century. Thus, the entire 

continent of Africa had been partitioned among 

World the various nations of Europe. Great Britain 

War. r . 

was the first important colonial power and at 

present owns an enormous portion of the earth's surface. 
Starting with earlier and more brilliant prospects, Spain, 
as we have seen, finally lost all her colonial possessions in 
America. France, however, after her loss in America suc- 
ceeded in building up a new empire in Africa. Germany 
entered the race for colonies late and, as the result of the 
World War, lost the few which she did possess. A new fac- 
tor has entered world politics in the shape of Japan, who has 
sought to extend her dominion through Korea and China. 
Although this colonial expansion has often carried civiliza- 
tion to the backward peoples of the earth, it has had some 
unfortunate results. Often the contact with European 
life and the vices of civilization have been fatal to the 
natives. Neither the people nor their primitive, simple 
folkways could make the necessary adjustments. Fre- 
quently colonization has meant exploitation for both the 
natives and their natural resources. The conclusion of the 
World War has given rise to the problem of mandatories 
for backward peoples. The ideal is that of a public trust 
rather than a source of profit. There has been a wild 
scramble among the leading industrial nations for new 
sources of important raw materials and for new markets 
for their finished goods. Although such action paved the 



A Century of Political Evolution 107 

way for the stupendous conflict through which we have 
just passed, such national rivalries have not abated. 
The future alone will disclose the part to be played by the 
United States in world affairs. America has never been 
selfish in international politics. The war showed that 
the nation could not and would not dodge its responsibility 
as a great world power. The cessation of hostilities, 
however, did not remove the foreign situation from Ameri- 
can politics. "Splendid isolation" seems no longer 
possible, but we shrink from active participation in Euro- 
pean affairs. Sound and patriotic nationalism must be 
the true basis of friendly international relationships. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1 . Review the territorial growth of America. 

2. Do you believe immigration to be a selective process? Explain. 

3. Compare the Jeffersonian with the Jacksonian democracy. 

4. How has the frontier affected the development of American 
democracy? 

5. Show how the great inventions furthered the cause of union. 

6. Contrast the political problems of an agrarian democracy with 
those of an industrial democracy. 

7. Discuss the woman suffrage issue from the aspect of social 
justice and from the point of view of political expediency. 

8. Name a number of political innovations since the Civil War. 

9. Show how Civil Service Reform is a blow to the political 
boss. 

10. Show how the administrative departments of the national 
government require specialized experts and permanency of office. 

11. Make out a case for the short ballot. 

12. Explain how the initiative and referendum operate. 

13. Show their advantages and disadvantages. 

14. What is your opinion regarding the desirability of the recall 
of judicial decisions. Defend your position. 

15. Show how the recall can be used in local government. 



108 Problems of American Democracy 

1 6. Explain the differences between the primary and the regular 
election as to purpose, method, etc. 

17. How does the direct primary work? State advantages and 
disadvantages. 

18. What did the Monroe Doctrine really say? 

19. What is the status of the Monroe Doctrine to-day? 

20. Should the Philippines be given independence? Why or 
why not? 

21. What do you think of the League of Nations? 

22. Why did the United States refuse to join the League? 

23. Show where and how modern nations have exploited colonial 
possessions. How can these evils be remedied? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The opening of the West. 

2. The rise of nationalism. 

3. Political problems before and after the Civil War. 

4. History of woman suffrage. 

5. History of Civil Service Reform. 

6. Initiative and referendum in Switzerland and the United 
States. 

7. Applications and interpretations of the Monroe Doctrine. 

8. Provisions and text of the League of Nations. 

9. The work of the Washington Conference in 1921. 

REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics. 
Howe, F. C. Why War? 

Merriam, C. E. A History of American Political Theories. 
Merriam, C. E. American Political Ideas — 1865-IQ17. 
Roosevelt, Theodore. The Winning of the West. 
Young, J. T. The New American Government and Its Work. 



CHAPTER X 

The Growth of Cities 

I. The city in the past 
i . Its history 
2. Early conditions 
II. Urban conditions in the United States 
i. Growth of American cities 

2. The causes: 

a. Economic factors 

b. Superior advantages 

3. City-planning: 

a. How handicapped 

b. The progress made 

c. The new plan 

4. Housing conditions : 

a. Congestion 

b. Results 

c. Remedies 

5. Public health 

6. Social conditions 

7. The future 
III. Rural life 

1. The past 

2. The new area 

While the constitutional development of the American 
State was taking place throughout the nineteenth century, 
and while the growing nation was gradually assuming a 
position of importance in international affairs, an internal 
movement of the highest social significance was also in 

109 



no Problems of American Democracy 

progress. This movement took the form of the concen- 
tration of great masses of people in particular localities. 
Thus, with the growth of large cities, a new and potent 
force appeared in American political, economic, and social 
life. Urban development, however, has not been peculiar 
to America, but is a world phenomenon of the nineteenth 
century. 

The City in the Past. — Ancient history tells us of 
some famous cities. The proud city of Nineveh was the 
it s metropolis of the Assyrian Empire, and Babylon, 

1S ory " along whose walls several chariots could run 
abreast, is said to have had a million inhabitants. Although 
Athens has determined the content of culture for hundreds 
of years, its size was insignificant when measured by 
modern standards. The City of the Acropolis in the flower 
of its growth had perhaps a hundred thousand inhabitants; 
while Rome, when destroyed by Nero, probably contained 
a half million of people. The Romans, however, were 
fond of urban life and their civilization was characterized 
by many famous towns. These declined during the 
Middle Ages when population, then largely rural, lived 
upon the feudal manors of that day. The development of 
commerce revived some of the old cities and stimulated 
the growth of others. As the towns grew from manorial 
villages, many purchased or forcibly secured their inde- 
pendence from the lord to whom allegiance had been due. 
The Renaissance was born in the city-states of northern 
Italy, and the Reformation was fostered in the free cities 
of Germany. The cities of Europe continued to grow 
slowly in size, but even the great capitals of that day were 
insignificant when compared with their present counter- 
parts. As late as 1815, the Congress of Vienna sat within 



The Growth of Cities 1 1 1 

the walled town which had not yet expanded from its 
shell. The rapid growth of cities has taken place only 
within the last hundred years, in the period following the 
Industrial Revolution. Four-fifths of London's growth 
took place during the last century, and a like expansion is 
equally true of Paris and of Petrograd. The recent 
development of Tokio shows that oriental cities, affected 
by western civilization, may experience a similar mushroom 
growth. 

The medieval town was characterized by narrow, 
crooked, and unpaved streets. Garbage and refuse were 
thrown from the window often to the discom- Early 
fort of passing pedestrians. Street cleaning was con ltlons - 
unknown because rain occasionally accomplished the 
desired result. The houses were gabled with projecting 
upper stories, which to-day still give the picturesque effect 
of early times. Signs in front of the various shops pictured 
the wares whose names few could read. At night appren- 
tices fastened huge shutters to the front of the shop and 
the doors were bolted. Along the dark narrow streets 
roisterers were frequently attacked by footpads, and to 
keep the peace a night-watch, with arms and lanterns, was 
employed. In later times the night watch sang the hour 
and with it, perchance, a bit of scriptural advice. Chains 
were fastened across the streets, while the town gate was 
kept shut until sunrise. The romance of time has given 
color and picturesqueness to the scene, but the towns and 
cities of the past were unpleasant and, at times, evil places as 
compared with those of modern days. With no knowledge of 
sanitation or public hygiene, the death rate was enormous. 
Numbers were recruited by fugitive serfs and by those 
drawn thither by the occasional peace and the possibility 



ii2 Problems of American Democracy 

of commercial gain. Plagues, like the Black Death, and 
great fires, like that of London, brought fearful destruction 
to life and property. 
Urban Conditions in the United States.— The 

United States Census usually classifies communities with a 
Growth of population of 2500 or more as urban. There 
American are three such groups: (1) those having a 
population from 2500 to 25,000, constituting a 
small city; (2) those from 25,000 to 100,000, classified as 
medium-sized cities; and (3) those over 100,000, or large 
cities. In 1800 there were only five cities in the United 
States with a population of over 10,000; while a century 
later there were six hundred cities of such size or over. 
Using the classification of the national census to designate 
cities, we find that to-day our urban population is a trifle 
over one-half the total population. If, under rural popu- 
lation, we exclude all towns and limit ourselves to the 
dwellers in the open country, we find that urban popula- 
tion in the United States has increased six times as rapidly 
as the strictly rural population. This urban population is 
concentrated largely in the northeastern section of the 
United States. The states of Massachusetts, New York, 
Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois contain half of our country's 
total urban population. The combined New England and 
Middle Atlantic States contain almost one-half of the total 
urban population. If we include the North Central States, 
the proportion is two-thirds. It is interesting to notice 
how this distribution corresponds to the proportion of 
immigrants and of those of foreign parentage. Note also 
that these states, with few exceptions, constitute our great 
commercial and industrial centers. The southern and 
western sections of our country are not only more thinly 



The Growth of Cities 113 

populated, but their proportion of city dwellers is also 
much lower because of the different nature of the occupa- 
tions of the people in those regions. A comparison with 
European conditions will also be interesting. Although 
European countries are more densely populated, the pro- 
portion of city dwellers is not so high as in some of our 
industrial states. It is evident, however, that there has 
been an unprecedented growth of cities since the Industrial 
Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 
In America this growth has been especially rapid. 

The Industrial Revolution, introducing the factory 
system and modern industrialism, has been the prime cause 
of the development of cities. Cities have grown 
up around manufacturing centers, for the causes: 
superior facilities for transportation make an Economic 

r r factors. 

urban location of industry advantageous. Hither 
are brought raw materials, which are converted into finished 
products and shipped to far distant places. Again, the 
city furnishes an excellent labor market. Since trade and 
commerce are as important as manufacturing, the city is 
generally located upon some point favorable for commerce 
and often arises where a natural break in transportation 
occurs. The famous cities of northern Italy, like Venice 
and Genoa, occupied a central position in the commerce of 
medieval Europe. Across the Mediterranean, their ships 
sailed to and from the Orient. From them the goods were 
sent by the rivers of Germany and France to points in 
northern and western Europe. When the commercial 
world shifted its center from the Mediterranean to the 
Atlantic, these ports lost their strategic position and 
suffered decline. In Europe and America we find cities 
located upon navigable waters — New York upon a bay, 



1 14 Problems of American Democracy 

Chicago upon a lake, and San Francisco upon the coast. 
A city, located upon a modern commercial route, may be 
the outlet for the products of the local environment as well 
as the distributing point for incoming goods. Thus, 
Chicago taps the cattle and grain industry of the West, 
and New Orleans exports much of the cotton of the South. 
New York, the largest city in America, is as cosmopolitan 
in its commerce as in its population. 

The superior advantages of the city constitute another 
attractive force. Higher wages and more varied oppor- 
Superior tunities lure many ambitious country lads to 
a vantages, ^q c [iy w here they seek fame and fortune. The 
use of machinery in agriculture has also decreased the pro- 
portion of men needed on the farm. The combined 
harvester and reaper can do the work of many men, and 
other agricultural inventions have temporarily displaced 
scores of farm hands. The period of adjustment which the 
introduction of machinery necessitated came later in farm- 
ing than in manufacturing; hence the exodus from farm to 
city. The city also offers superior educational advantages. 
Again, its varied life contains more opportunities for com- 
fort and amusement; for, until recently, modern pleasures 
and conveniences, such as are found in city homes, did not 
exist upon the farm. 

So rapid has been the development of cities in America 
that the consequences have often been unfortunate. No 
one would have dreamed that the site of Fort 
planning: Dearborn would become, in fifty years, the 
How handi- g re at city of Chicago. Because of the rapidity 
of urban growth, little provision was made for 
the future development of the city. Crooked streets 
naturally grew up along early roads, like the cow paths of 



The Growth of Cities 



"5 



Boston. Hideous slums have arisen to house the poorer 
groups who have crowded into them. Incidentally, how- 
ever, it might be wise to realize that such conditions 
existed also in the great cities of antiquity, where over- 
crowding and its attendant evils were great. In the 




Chicago in 1832 — First House Built on the Present Site op the City 

development of many American cities, no system has 
characterized municipal building operations and much con- 
fusion exists which might otherwise have been avoided. 
River fronts have been monopolized by manufacturing 
plants, and shipping interests have followed the line of least 
resistance. Unfortunately, individual gain has come before 
civic beauty and welfare, causing grotesque contrasts in 
buildings, which offend the eye. 

Europe saw the danger before America, and continental 
cities resolved to protect the health and comfort of the 
city dweller. Half a century ago Paris, in spite The progress 
of the enormous expense involved in the demoli- made ' 
tion of valuable property, remodeled itself by a magnificent 



n6 



Problems of American Democracy 




© Ewing Galloway 



Chicago To-day — Looking North on State Street 

system of boulevards. Washington is one of the few 
American cities that was designed in advance and properly 
planned for future growth. Hence it has saved the expense 
which Paris incurred. Many American cities, like Phila- 
delphia, are facing a great public expenditure which could 
have been avoided by a carefully designed plan for future 



The Growth of Cities 117 

development. German cities are beautiful and well 
planned. Vienna is one of the most magnificent cities in 
the world, while the glory of Budapest is unsurpassed. 
The water fronts of many European cities are a source of 
beauty, as well as a highway for commerce and industry. 
Splendid stone bridges, monuments, parks, and drives are 
to be found. The location of industry is prescribed by 
the municipality, and a large portion of the water front 
preserved for the people. In some German cities a zone 
system has been established, whereby one section is reserved 
for factories, another for business houses, and still another 
for residences. 

A comprehensive planning of transportation lines and of 
city streets is highly advantageous to urban development. 
Many American cities have followed the checker- The new 
board plan of William Penn, who is said to have i>lan ' 
taken his idea from ancient Babylon. This scheme is 
simple and systematic, but it often causes congestion on 
the few streets that lead into the central business section. 
The best plan, perhaps, is to map out the city in the form 
of a wheel. Its central civic center would correspond to 
the hub and the main streets to the spokes, while the cross 
streets would be a series of rings. The construction of 
buildings should then be planned in accordance with 
principles of architectural beauty and symmetry. Munic- 
ipal buildings might well be grouped in the civic center, 
where the wide avenues and broad boulevards converge. 
Ample provisions should be made for squares, parks and 
public places, which serve not only as sources of communal 
pleasure but also as essential factors in public health. 
Suburbs for the working man at low rentals are more 
needed in the modern city than villas for the richer group. 



n8 Problems of American Democracy 

Such a scheme in connection with a system of cheap and 
rapid transportation will materially help to solve the 
problem of mass congestion. This has been tried in certain 
cities of England, where a special commutation rate to 
workers has enabled them to live in the outskirts of the 
city. This plan seeks to prevent, rather than to cure, the 
problem of congestion. 

The growth of cities has been attended by a development 
of the so called "slum" districts. In them the housing 
Housing conditions are such as to arouse alarm for the 
conditions: physical and moral condition of their inhabi- 
tants. The basis of this problem, like many 
others, is economic; for, as the city increases in population, 
real estate rises in value. The result of this tendency is a 
greater density of population in a given area. While the 
city has grown outward in many districts, it has likewise 
grown upward in others. Of this the modern " sky-scraper " 
is witness. What has happened in the business section has 
also taken place in the congested living quarters of a great 
metropolis. Thus the tenement house has sprung into 
existence. This is a large building or series of buildings 
several stories high and capable of accommodating a large 
number of families. The law in New York defines a 
tenement house as the residence of three or more families, 
each independent of the other and each providing its own 
cooking facilities. In fact, the number of cooking stoves is 
often used to determine the number of families. The 
tenement house has arisen in many of the formerly fashion- 
able quarters of the city now converted into business 
sections. As the former inhabitants have moved out, the 
poorer groups, often foreign immigrants, have occupied 
their homes. These old houses, many of which are fairly 



The Growth of Cities 1 19 

large, are used to accommodate a number of families. Con- 
gestion may also result from the occupancy of old shacks 
in alleys unfit for human habitation. The problem of 
housing is aggravated by the existence of the lodger. We 
have seen that with the foreign immigrants the number of 
men predominates. Many of these laborers may room 
together or become lodgers with one family. Desire for 
gain is strong among this group and that, as well as poverty, 
has led to very low standards of living. Housing commis- 
sions and various charity organizations have discovered 
some alarming facts. Two or more families often occupy 
the same room, while many beds are never free from human 
burdens. 

Congestion and bad housing conditions affect not only 
physical health but moral character. In the first place 
congestion results in the spreading of con- 
tagious diseases, while lack of air and sunshine The results. 
permits the spread of tuberculosis. "Band- 
box" houses of one room upon another, situated toward 
the rear of high buildings, possess no adequate facilities for 
light or ventilation. Another common evil is the lack of 
water and of a proper system of drainage. Many families 
use but one hydrant, and the amount of washing enjoyed 
bears a direct relation to the adequacy and nearness of the 
water supply. Drainage facilities are so inadequate that 
refuse water is often emptied into a back yard, which also 
serves as a dumping ground for garbage, ashes, and rubbish. 
Toilet facilities are extremely inadequate. Flies become 
efficient carriers of disease, while bacteria flourish in the 
dark, damp, and unclean environment. Infant mortality 
runs high in congested quarters, where hot summers and 
cold winters reap a full harvest of human life. The moral 



120 Problems of American Democracy 

dangers of congestion, although perhaps less apparent, are 
none the less real. In one small room, individuals of all 
ages and both sexes congregate. Under these conditions 
it is impossible to develop proper ideals of morality and 
family life — the very foundations of human society. Such 
conditions breed the criminal, the immoral, and the degen- 
erate element in American society. 

What remedies may be suggested for these housing con- 
ditions so fatal to the life and character of modern peoples? 
The Since congestion is the root of the evil, the 

remedies problem must be approached from this stand- 
point. Either congestion itself must be removed or its 




Workingmen's Houses in Texas 

evils mitigated. The former method has been sought by 
the advocates of comprehensive city-planning. According 
to this plan, the great congested quarters of the city would 
be denuded of their surplus population by their removal to 
suburban districts, to which adequate means of transporta- 



The Growth of Cities 121 

tion would be established. The success of this plan depends 
upon its cheapness. Unless rentals are reasonable and 
transportation rates low, the plan cannot succeed. Again, 
paternalistic schemes have been tried, such as that of the 
Krupps at Essen in Germany, and the experiment of the Pull- 
man Company near Chicago. Philanthropists, like Ruskin 
and Peabody, have also attempted to improve the housing 
conditions of the laboring class. Where it is impossible to 
rebuild the city, perhaps the most practical plan is that of 
strict government regulation and municipal inspection of 
housing conditions in the more densely populated sections 
of the city. Regulations must be enacted and rigidly 
enforced to guard the health, comfort, and safety of those 
living in congested quarters. A campaign of education 
will accomplish much in developing in the community a 
realization of "how the other half live"; while a sound 
solution of the problem of immigration will materially 
lessen the evil of congestion. 

The growth of the modern city bears a vital relation to 
the problem of public health. We have already seen the 
effect of bad housing conditions, with all their p u bii c 
attendant evils, upon the health of the con- eat " 
gested sections of a great city. But in addition to proper 
housing conditions, many other factors enter into the health 
and safety of urban populations. Of first importance is the 
water supply. This should be plentiful and free from con- 
tamination. Because of the lack of proper waterworks and 
an adequate filtration system, many cities have suffered from 
a poor and contaminated water supply. Again, it is 
imperative for the maintenance of public health that the 
city should be supplied with an adequate system of under- 
drainage and an effective sewage disposal plant. The 



122 Problems of American Democracy 

proper collection and disposal of garbage, together with 
the elimination of unclean rubbish, is a most important 
factor in the maintenance of public health. A pure milk 
supply is only second in importance to a clean water supply. 
Because of carelessness and ignorance in the preparation 
of the milk diet, thousands of babies are sacrificed annually 
in every great city. Pure food regulations and cold storage 
restrictions are also made necessary by the conditions of 
urban life. Protection, too, should be afforded against the 
spread of contagious diseases. Houses must be fumigated 
to kill the germs of tuberculosis, scarlet fever, diphtheria, 
and smallpox. The health department of a great city 
holds as many lives in its care as are intrusted to the police 
and fire departments. Many hospitals maintain free 
clinics and dispensaries, some of which include a special 
social service department. To-day, in our great cities, 
the public schools employ nurses and physicians to examine 
the eyes and to care for the teeth of thousands of children. 
Likewise, the playground movement has begun and recrea- 
tion centers are located in many school yards. Public 
baths are a source of both pleasure and bodily cleanliness, 
while the parks of the city afford relief to the thousands 
who never ask themselves where they shall spend the 
summer. 

The city is the great laboratory for the study of society. 
Here are intensified the great social, economic, and political 
questions of the day. It is not that the city is inherently 
Social more wicked than the country, but that the fact 

conditions. Q £ g reat numbers accentuates the problem. In 
the densely settled metropolis the problems of immigration 
and good citizenship are inseparable. It is also in the city 
that the negro problem shows some of its worst evils. The 



The Growth of Cities 123 

crowding together of whites and blacks often results in 
considerable race friction and disorder among the ignorant 
classes of each race. Poverty and pauperism are more 
common in the city than in the country, for many unfor- 
tunates drift in from the surrounding rural districts. 
Urban charitable institutions support during the winter 
the migratory group which leaves with the advent of spring. 
Many cases of permanent relief formerly lived in the country 
and came to the city with no definite means of support. 
It has been estimated that a third of the population of 
many big cities live below the poverty line, and in some of 
them as high as ten per cent have required the assistance 
of charity. The city's record of crime is unenviable and 
is often twice as large as that of the country. Vice seems 
associated with city life; but illiteracy is not so great among 
the native born in the city as in the country. 

But what of the future? The "city beautiful" is the 
ideal of those who would remodel city life upon more 
artistic lines by inaugurating an era of city- The 
planning for future development. A second uture - 
ideal centers in public health. The examination of men for 
military service in the great World War has disclosed 
valuable statistics concerning the health of city dwellers. 
There is no doubt that the urban death rate is shrinking. 
The city, which was formerly regarded as extremely 
unhealthy, is becoming more sanitary with the advance of 
scientific knowledge. Preventable disease, however, can 
be still further cut down by greater civic cooperation. A 
third ideal is that of reform in housing and committees of 
citizens have determined that the slum must be eliminated 
from city life. The political ideal seeks a municipal 
government which is both efficient and democratic. Some 



124 Problems of American Democracy 

American cities, as we shall see in a later chapter, have 
already adopted a commission form of government to 
insure better civic housekeeping. Let us hope that the 
future will not bear out the opinion of Viscount Bryce a 
generation ago that municipal government was the one 
great failure of American democracy. 

Rural Life. — The more rapid increase of urban popu- 
lation as compared with rural has already been indicated. 
The The appeal of the city to the country boy was 

past ' ever present, and in the past rural districts 

were frequently drained of the ambitious element qualified 
for future leadership. Country schools were often few and 
poor, while the school term was shortened to meet the de- 
mands of farm life. Higher education could only be obtained 
in the city. Work on the farm was hard and the hours of labor 
long. Indeed, the farmer and his family have probably 
been exploited as much as any other element in American 
industry. He has patiently suffered a working day from 
sunrise to sunset, while his wife has not only performed 
the chores of farm life, but also reared large families. 
The farmer, himself, has endured longer hours of work 
than those permitted by many trade unions. In the past, 
his daughters and sons have sought an escape in city life 
from the hard rigor of the farm. 

In recent years, however, a change has gradually taken 
place. A decreasing proportion of food producers com- 
The pared with food consumers has elevated the 

importance and economic position of the farmer. 
Higher prices and better living conditions combine to 
make his life more enjoyable. No longer is he necessarily 
confined and bound by tradition. The creation of a 
federal department of agriculture has been beneficial in 



The Growth of Cities 125 

the dissemination of better methods of farming. Expert 
advice upon seeds and soils can be had for the asking. 
Education has advanced with material prosperity, and the 
modern farmer is beginning to see the value of sending his 
boys to school. The country high school has appeared 
upon the landscape. The rural free delivery of mail, the 
newspaper, and the telephone help the farmer keep abreast 
of the times. The mail order department of the big stores 
send their catalogues to his door, while the interurban 
electric trolley takes him quickly to town. Finally, the 
advent of the automobile has produced better roads and 
promoted sociability. Thus the former isolation of 
country life is fast disappearing. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Name and describe some famous cities of antiquity. 

2. Describe the appearance and sanitary conditions of medieval 
towns. 

3. What modern industrial changes caused an unprecedented 
growth of cities? 

4. Give examples of this growth among European cities. 

5. Compare urban and rural development in America. 

6. What is the distribution of urban population in the United 
States? 

7. What are the causes of the growth of cities in recent years? 

8. Give the results of such a rapid growth of cities. 

9. What do you mean by city-planning? 

10. How would it help solve the problem of congestion? 

1 1 . Describe some conditions of bad housing with which you are 
familiar. 

12. Give the effects of such conditions upon the public health and 
morality. 

13. Give some remedial suggestions. 

14. What do you think of municipal tenements and corporation 
villages? 



126 Problems of American Democracy 

15. What should housing legislation prohibit and what should it 
demand? 

16. Show the relation between public utilities and city health. 

17. Show some definite ways in which pure food laws protect the 
public health. 

18. Why is a social service department a valuable addition to a 
hospital staff? 

19. What social ills are intensified in a city? 

20. How do city and country compare in poverty and crime? 

21. What should be the ideals of the future city? 

22. Describe the change which has taken place in rural life. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The rise of cities in the Middle Ages. 

2. The Industrial Revolution and the growth of modern cities. 

3. Immigration in relation to cities. 

4. Housing conditions in your community. 

5. Your water supply. 

6. "How the other half live." 

7. The water fronts of French and German cities. 

8. The activities of a department of public health. 

9. City-planning in America — its progress and advantages. 
10. European versus American cities. 

REFERENCES 

Bailey, L. H. The Country Life Movement in the United States. 

Godfrey, H. Health of the City. 

Rhs, J. How the Other Half Live. 

Robinson, C. M. Modern Civic Art. 

Rowe, L. S. Problems of City Government. 

Smith, S. G. Social Pathology. 

Weber, A. F. Growth of Cities. 

Wilcox, D. F. The American City. 



CHAPTER XI 

Problems of the City 

I. Government of the city 

i. The city as a political unit 

2. Early forms of government 

3. Political corruption 

4. Commission form of government 

5. City manager plan 
II. Municipal activities 

1. Recognized functions 

2. Public utilities 

3. Water supply 

4. Gas and electricity 

5. Transportation 

6. Franchises 

7. Municipal ownership 

Government of the City. — The city or borough is a 
legal creation of the commonwealth in which it is located. 
It is a municipal corporation which has been 
given a charter by the state legislature. The as I C1 y 
charter contains the organization of the city J^t? 
government and numerous provisions specifying 
what the city may do and what it may not do. Its borrow- 
ing power, for illustration, has legal limitations. Although 
a state passes laws, a city can pass only ordinances. Some 
cities in the United States contain a greater population 
than certain states. Nevertheless, their citizens are not 



128 Problems of American Democracy 

free to choose for themselves in many matters of local 
government. They are dependent upon the state legis- 
lature, which is made up of representatives of all parts of 
the commonwealth. Hence there has grown up the cry of 
"Home rule for cities." On the other hand, it must be 
remembered that many municipal functions are of vital 
interest to others who do not live inside the city. The 
water supply and the disposal of sewage are cases in point. 
Another problem is the occasional confusion between city 
and county lines. Sometimes the city has grown so 
enormously that it has become practically coterminous 
with the county, and yet the two sets of offices have per- 
sisted. In England, when a borough reaches a certain 
population, it is then known as a county borough and 
becomes a separate political unit. In the United States, 
it is possible for a small community to separate itself 
legally from the township in which it is located. It then 
becomes a chartered corporation and a unit of local govern- 
ment independent of the township. Such municipal cor- 
porations are known variously as villages, towns, or 
boroughs. 

Early town government in America was modeled after 
that of England. Not only was the mayor elected by the 
Earl members of the council, but vacancies in that 

forms of body were often similarly filled. Hence the 

government. . 

organization was that of a closed corporation. 
Gradually, the citizens of the towns came to elect not only 
the members of the council but also the mayor. City 
charters were planned like those of the state and national 
governments and usually provided for two chambers of 
councils. The select council generally had a smaller 
membership than the common council, and its members 



Problems of the City 129 

were called aldermen. Although the practice varied, the 
mayor generally had a veto power. Recently there has 
been a tendency toward a smaller and one-chambered 
council. With a smaller number of members, it is possible 
to pay higher salaries and to raise the personnel of the 
membership. The large two-chambered body was not 
only too unwieldy, but it also tended to diffuse responsi- 
bility. As a rule, the members of council are elected from 
municipal districts called wards. Many objections have 
been raised to this application of the principle of geo- 
graphical representation to cities. It is held that the 
needs of different parts of the city are not sufficiently 
divergent to justify separate representation, and that the 
best men of the whole city should be chosen irrespective of 
their local residences. 

A generation ago, Viscount Bryce regarded the city as 
the great failure of American democracy. It was here 
that the evils of bossism were most glaring. Political 
Political leaders, in return for patronage and corru P tlon - 
political favors, have been able to control the vote of the 
majority. The city has been divided by the political 
machine into smaller districts, each under the control of 
some office-holder who is responsible for "getting out" the 
vote on election day. The influx of great numbers of 
ignorant immigrants into the city has made easier this 
political manipulation. The administrative departments 
have been frequently lacking in efficiency, and the wheels of 
justice have sometimes been clogged. Finally, there has 
been in the past a great waste of the public funds. When 
Tweed was boss of New York a court house was designed 
to cost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Seven 
years later it was found that eight millions had been spent 
J 



130 Problems of American Democracy 

and that the building had not yet been completed. As late 
as 1908 an investigation revealed the fact that the police 
department was paying twenty-one cents a pound for 
nails, which any citizen could purchase for five cents a 
pound. Cheap five-cent coat hooks were being put up at 
a cost of over two dollars apiece. The awarding of munic- 
ipal contracts to political favorites has given rise to the 
expression of "contractor rule." Municipal finances have 
often been poorly managed and great debts incurred. 
Bonds have sometimes been issued to meet current expenses, 
as well as to pay for permanent improvements. 

A new type of municipal government came into existence 
with the Galveston flood of 1901. The city had been rather 
extravagantly administered under the mayor- 
sio™form council type of government. Deficits had been 
mentT ern " regularly met by borrowing. The flood caused 
great loss of life and property. The munici- 
pality seemed incapable of meeting the catastrophe and 
restoring the public credit. A new charter was therefore 
granted the city, which provided for a commission form of 
government. The entire control over the government of 
the city was placed in the hands of five commissioners who 
held both executive and legislative power. They not only 
passed ordinances for the city, but also were in charge of 
the administrative departments. In many forms of com- 
mission government, each commissioner directs the work of 
some one department of the city government. The 
presiding officer is frequently in charge of finances. 
Although the commissioners are elected by the people of 
the city, the mayor is chosen later from among his fellow 
commissioners, who then proceed to divide the work of 
the various departments among themselves. Such a plan 



Problems of the City 13 1 

has been termed an attempt to give the city a business 
administration, but has been successfully operated thus 
far only in our smaller cities. The success of the Gal- 
veston plan resulted in its adoption by many other cities. 
It is a device by which responsibility is fixed in the hands 
of a few people, who are known to the community and 
whose work can be closely watched. Des Moines copied 
the general plan, but added the initiative and referendum 
as an aid to direct legislation. 

The city manager plan is an adaptation of the com- 
mission form of municipal government. Here the com- 
missioners do not attempt to administer directly 
any of the departments of the city government, manager 
They merely determine the general policy to be 
followed and leave the actual administration to some pro- 
fessional expert whom they have chosen. In this respect, 
we observe a resemblance to the directors of a corporation 
and the salaried superintendent of their plant. The city 
manager generally has the power to appoint the adminis- 
trative officers under him and, in this way, can be held 
responsible for the efficiency of the various departments. 
On the other hand the city manager is an employee of the 
city commissioners, who can dismiss him when dissatisfied 
with his municipal administration. An amendment added 
to the constitution of Ohio in 191 2 permitted cities to 
draft their own constitutions, and the city of Dayton chose 
the city manager plan. Here, as in Galveston, a flood was 
partially responsible for a political readjustment. The 
Dayton charter will serve as an illustration of the city 
manager plan. In this form of government there is a 
commission consisting of five members, elected for four 
years from the city at large. They pass ordinances, fix 



132 Problems of American Democracy 

the tax rate, approve appropriations, and elect a city 
manager to run the administrative departments. There 
are also provisions providing for the initiative, referendum, 
and recall. 

Municipal Activities. — No matter what form the city 
government takes, there are certain fundamental depart- 
Recognized ments for which provision must be made. In 
functions. ^ £ rgt pi ace? fa e municipality must protect 

the lives and property of its citizens. Hence we have the 
department of public safety with its police and fire bureaus. 
The development of a uniformed police force organized 
upon a military basis was a gradual evolution from the 
earlier days of night watchmen and constables. So, too, 
the present engines for fighting fire are very different from 
the hand-pulled and operated machines of a generation ago. 
Other municipal departments are those of transportation 
and public works. Bridges and highways must be built 
and kept in repair, while the city is also responsible for the 
construction of sewers and the disposal of the sewage. 
It must own and keep in repair its own pipe lines and 
sewage disposal plant. The cleaning of the streets and 
the collection of refuse are legitimate functions of the 
city. Some municipalities have awarded this work to 
private contractors, but the practice is disappearing. 
Other important city departments are those of health, 
charities, and education, for these are vital functions in 
any democracy. To pay for all these municipal activities 
great sums of money must be raised. The tax upon real 
estate is the chief source of revenue for the local govern- 
ment. The appropriations for some of our larger cities 
are even greater than those of a number of our common- 
wealths. Hence, there is the necessity for an adequate 



Problems of the City 133 

budget system and some standardized methods of account- 
ing. Of recent years there have come into existence in 
various cities bureaus of municipal research. These 
organizations, which are privately financed and directed, 
study municipal problems and make suggestions for civic 
betterment. A new day may be dawning in municipal 
affairs in which men will proudly say in the words of the 
Apostle Paul, "I am a citizen of no mean city." 

Besides the recognized municipal functions which the 
city cannot escape, there are other activities of a semi- 
public nature. These include the furnishing of Public 
water, gas, electricity, and the means of trans- utmties - 
portation and communication. Although frequently per- 
formed by private corporations, the nature of the service 
here rendered is so essential to the community that some 
sort of government regulation is imperative. Hence the 
term public utility is applied to this group of necessities. 
If the commodity or service were not essential, the public 
could cease its consumption. When there is no possibility 
of substitution, however, "Mr. Common People" must 
accept the service rendered and pay the price demanded. 
Besides these social and political characteristics, there is 
an economic aspect of the problem. Public utilities are 
natural monopolies, that is, their very nature makes com- 
petition impracticable. For illustration, it would be very 
costly to build parallel trolley lines or to install water 
pipes of separate companies on the same street. Compet- 
ing telephone companies in the same city not only make 
necessary a duplication of poles, wires, and exchange 
stations, but also force individuals to subscribe to both 
companies in order to secure effective service. Competi- 
tion between public service corporations has proved disas- 



134 Problems of American Democracy 

troiis in the past. They have finally been forced to 
combine and to raise the rates in order, not only to recom- 
pense themselves for the cheap rates during the period of 
competition, but also to pay for the duplication of equip- 
ment. For these reasons public service commissions have 
frequently refused to grant a franchise to a new public 
service corporation when another similar company was 
operating in the same district. 

The importance of a pure and adequate water supply to 
the community makes this service an essential public 
Water utility. With the growth of cities, it has become 

supply. increasingly difficult to find a source of water 

which is both adequate in supply and free from impurities. 
Rivers are regarded with suspicion because other cities 
farther up the stream may have used the channel for 
sewage disposal. The city of Los Angeles brings its water 
through huge conduits a distance of two hundred and fifty 
miles down the mountains and across the desert. Inci- 
dentally this also furnishes a source of hydro-electricity. 
Other cities dependent upon rivers have built great filtra- 
tion plants and costly pumping stations. Bacteriological 
tests are made and the water is sometimes scientifically 
treated to safeguard the health of the city. Because of 
the close relationship of the water supply to the public 
health, most cities own their own waterworks. A second 
consideration is that of cost to the consumer. Often the 
revenue from the water tax is insufficient to pay for the 
cost of the service. The water department may show a 
deficit which must be made up in other ways. Water 
meters are excellent preventives of waste, but unfortunate 
in so far as they discourage the use of water on the part of 
the poorer citizens. 



Problems of the City 135 

Gas was used as an illuminant early in the eighteenth 
century. The lighting of the streets decreased the amount 
of crime and helped make the modern city a more Gas and 
pleasant place in which to live. The history of gas electncit y- 
service as a public utility is interesting and varied. Different 
cities have made numerous experiments. At first private 
companies were chartered and given very liberal franchises. 
Later many cities bought the gas plants, and tried municipal 
ownership and operation. No generalization can be made, 
however, for some cities succeeded while others signally 
failed. The development of electricity has overshadowed 
the use of gas as an illuminant. Electric lighting dates 
from the year 1880. Before the close of the last century 
numerous electric plants had been established. Although 
some cities have manufactured their own electricity, most 
of them found it more economical to purchase it from great 
electric power companies. Because of its increasing 
industrial uses, the manufacture of electricity in recent 
years has been accomplished on a very large scale. No 
limit can be set to the possibilities of electricity, and future 
generations may regard the supply of electric current as 
vital as the water supply. Hence the rates and the 
character of the electric service must be carefully supervised 
by public service commissions. Electricity cannot be 
stored in tanks like gas, but is produced instantaneously 
with the demand. The industrial need during the day 
balances the demand at night for lighting purposes. 
Nevertheless, the problem of supply is difficult of adjust- 
ment, and the steady consumer is favored in rate making. 
Electricity for the lighting of the city is sometimes furnished 
at a very low rate, in return for certain privileges in the 
franchise given to the company. 



136 Problems of American Democracy 

The development of municipal transportation in America, 
since the first street car line was operated in Baltimore in 
Transpor- J %S9, has been signalized by marked improve- 
ments. The horse and cable cars gradually 
gave way to the electric trolley. English cities still cling 
to the bus, which seems adapted to their narrow, crowded 
streets. Recent years have seen the development in 
America of the subway and the elevated railroad. As 
each city grew, the separate car lines in it were merged 
into a great system. In the history of the various mergers 
all sorts of "high finance" are illustrated. Some of the 
early lines had been given such favorable franchises that 
they made enormous profits. In taking them over, later 
companies were forced to guarantee high earnings to the 
original companies. The evil of stock watering appeared, 
and the public found it difficult to get lower fares. Public 
service commissions, therefore, came into existence. These 
public bodies are empowered to pass upon the quality of 
the service. They may also determine what is an equitable 
fare and what is a proper rate of profit for the investors. 
In Europe, as contrasted with America, public ownership 
of tramways has been the rule. In order to facilitate 
rapid transit in our growing cities, some American munici- 
palities have tried the experiment of building their own 
subways and elevated railroads and of leasing them to 
private companies to operate. 

The city is given by the commonwealth the right to 

make a contract with a private corporation granting it the 

right to do certain things. Such a contract, 

Franchises. ° . .. . , 

called a franchise, is made for a limited number of 
years. The franchise may impose conditions upon the 
company, such as the repairing of the streets, the quality and 



Problems of the City 137 

the cost of the service rendered, and the payment to the city 
of certain charges for the right to operate. In the past 
franchises have often been given away with little regard 
for the public interest. Political influence in councils, or 
the legislature, have sometimes influenced the terms con- 
tained in them. Many valuable privileges, for which later 
commercial companies would have paid a handsome price, 
were given away or sold at a very low figure. On the other 
hand, the conditions imposed have not proved a sufficient 
safeguard against the exploitation of the city and the con- 
sumer. Perhaps the worst feature was the long term for 
which the franchise was often granted. Franchises were 
permitted to run for ninety-nine, and sometimes for nine 
hundred and ninety-nine, years. No generation, however, 
should have the right to limit the freedom of choice of 
future generations because conditions change so materially 
with the lapse of time. It is fair to both corporation and 
public that no franchise should be granted for a longer 
period, perhaps, than thirty years. At the end of the 
period specified, the city should have the right to purchase 
the plant of the public utility company at a fairly appraised 
valuation. 

Municipal ownership in America is limited principally to 
waterworks and occasionally to lighting plants. Europe 
has gone further in the public ownership of Municipal 
means of communication and transportation. ownershi P- 
In Germany, slaughter houses and milk depots are munic- 
ipalized to a rather large extent. American cities are 
just beginning to own their own water fronts and to con- 
struct municipal docks. Merely because municipal owner- 
ship has worked in a number of European cities, however, 
is no guarantee that it will be successful in American 



138 Problems of American Democracy 

municipalities. The advocates of public ownership claim 
that, with the elimination of private profit, the service 
rendered will be much cheaper. Moreover, the social 
results might prove beneficial in that success would no 
longer be read in the form of high dividends, but rather in 
terms of the greatest good to the greatest number. Ameri- 
can experience in public ownership has not always shown 
that these desirable things have followed. Cheaper and 
better service has not always been obtained. Lax business 
methods, extravagance, and political corruption have 
sometimes occurred. The opponents of public ownership 
claim that, under such a regime, the consumer will endure 
evils to which he would not submit under private owner- 
ship. A compromise in the form of municipal ownership 
and private operation has been suggested. At least some 
form of regulation is necessary, and most states have 
established public service commissions for this purpose. 
Each city and each public utility present an individual 
problem. It is therefore impossible to generalize upon the 
merits of municipal ownership as an undeviating principle 
of democracy. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1 . What is the legal relationship between the state and the city? 

2. What do you understand by home rule for cities? 

3. Name some other units of local government besides the city. 

4. What are some important differences in governmental organi- 
zation? 

5. How do the functions of rural government differ from those 
of a big city? 

6. Outline the development of the mayor-council type of city 
government in America. 

7. Name some of the fundamental administrative departments of 
a city and show what each does. 



Problems of the City 139 

8. Show how the commission form of city government differs 
from the early form of municipal government. 

9. What are the similarities and differences between the com- 
mission form of government and the city manager plan? 

10. What have been some causes of the past maladministration of 
city government? 

1 1 . Do you think there has been any recent improvement? What? 
Why? 

12. What are public utilities and why are they so called? 

13. Justify, if possible, their monopoly position. 

14. What does your city or town do to insure a safe and adequate 
supply of water for its citizens? 

15. Show the stages in the development of municipal transporta- 
tion. 

16. What is a public service commission? What powers should 
it have? 

17. What are the mistakes that have been made in granting 
franchises? 

18. What suggestions can you make in this regard? 

19. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of municipal 
ownership of public utilities. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The charter of your own or some neighboring city. 

2. The development of the commission form of government in 
American cities. 

3 . The government of some city which illustrates the city manager 
plan of municipal government. 

4. Proportional representation. 

5. Bureaus of municipal research. 

6. The history of city lighting. 

7. Influence of the Federal Constitution upon municipal charters. 

REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics. 
Fairlie, J. A. Municipal Administration. 
Goodnow, F. J. Municipal Problems. 



140 Problems of American Democracy 

Howe, F. C. The City: the Hope of Democracy. 

Magruder, F. A. The American Government in IQ21. 

Ogg, F. A. Governments of Europe. 

Rowe, L. S. Problems of City Government. 

Young, J. T. The New American Government and Its Work. 

Zeublin, C. American Municipal Progress. 



CHAPTER XII 

Our Increasing Population 

I. Growth of population 
i. Its importance 

2. Its modern increase : 

a. Early conditions 

b. Causes of increase 

3. Laws of population : 

a. Theory of Malthus 

b. Modern opinion 

4. In foreign countries 

5. In the United States 
II. Distribution of population 

1. Geographical 

2. Other methods: 

a. Race 

b. Nativity 

c. Sex 

d. Age 
III. Vital statistics 

1. Meaning 

2. A falling birth rate: 

a. In Europe 

b. In America 

c. The causes 

3. A falling death rate: 

a. The reasons 

b. Other influences 

141 



142 Problems of American Democracy 

The Growth of Population. — The political evolution 
and territorial expansion of the United States during the 
Itsim- nineteenth century were accompanied by an 

portance. equally striking increase in population. When 
independence was achieved, our people numbered but a 
scant three millions. To-day the population of continental 
United States has crossed the hundred million mark. 
All other things being equal, the relative importance of a 
nation tends to advance with an increase in numbers. 
Assuming that the quality of the population has not 
deteriorated, an increase or decrease in its quantity is an 
important factor in group survival. A nation may increase 
in numbers either by a surplus of births over deaths or by 
immigration from without. Both methods have been 
important in the development of American population. 
Before tracing in turn each of these two factors, let us 
note a few interesting phases of the general problem of 
population. 

While no reliable statistics are available, it is generally 

believed that the population of Europe during the Middle 

Ages was stationary. Conditions prevented 

increase:" 1 any considerable growth of numbers, for, while 

Early con- feudal warfare devastated the crops, famine and 

dihons. x 

pestilence swept the land. The few walled towns 
and cities of that time were filthy, unsanitary and congested 
centers through which the Black Plague could make 
terrible headway. In spite of the enormous death rate, a 
correspondingly high birth rate kept medieval population 
up to the limit fixed by the productivity of the land. 
This was not great, however, for the area under cultivation 
was small and the methods of farming crude. When the 
Council of Clermont preached the First Crusade in 1095, 



Our Increasing Population 143 

one argument advanced in its favor was that it offered a 
means of escape from over population in France. Through- 
out the Middle Ages and during modern times, until the 
opening of the nineteenth century, population increased 
comparatively slowly. 

During the last century, however, a remarkable increase 
took place in the population of the civilized world. From 
1 800 to 1 900 European Russia increased in popula- causes oj 
tion from forty to one hundred six millions, Ger- mcrease - 
many from twenty-seven to fifty-six, France from twenty-five 
to thirty-nine, and Great Britain from twenty-five to forty- 
two millions. Increase of population means a surplus of 
births over deaths, and this surplus during the nineteenth 
century was due to a fall in the death rate rather than to a 
rise in the birth rate. The advance of medical science and 
of public hygiene has prolonged human life by cutting down 
the death rate. Again, during the last century, the 
existence of a larger population on a given area was made 
possible by improved economic conditions due to various 
inventions and discoveries. No longer did a third of the 
land lie fallow as in the Middle Ages, but rotation of crops 
was practiced. Increased knowledge of agriculture and 
new inventions, such as the machine plow and the com- 
bined harvester and reaper, multiplied many times the 
food supply. Finally, the geographical area for produc- 
tion has been widened. The great plains of the Missis- 
sippi, of South America, of South Africa, and of Australia 
have been developed. These vast regions, originally 
possessed by a very sparse native population, are now 
producing foodstuffs for the increasingly dense popula- 
tion of Europe. 

From what has been said it will be seen that there is a 



144 Problems of American Democracy 

close connection between growth of population and increase 
of food supply. Because of this relationship, writers have 
been tempted to lay down laws of population. Thus, in 
1798, an English economist named Thomas Mal- 
popuiation: thus published "An Essay on Population" He 
Aiaitimf originally contended that while food supply in- 
creased only in an arithmetical progression, popu- 
lation tended to increase in a geometrical ratio. This theory 
was later modified to the mere assertion that population 
tended to increase faster than the food supply. Positive 
checks upon population are those factors which increase the 
death rate. Good examples of these are war, pestilence, and 
famine. Negative or preventive checks are those which 
decrease the birth rate, such as the higher age of marriage, 
and the development of a feeling of responsibility. Such 
in brief was the theory of Thomas Malthus, who believed 
the source of most human misery lay in the tendency of 
population to outstrip the means of subsistence. His 
writings were so widely read that there soon grew up 
around him a pessimistic school of philosophers. Little 
hope was held for the future of society, and war, famine, 
and pestilence were regarded as necessary evils to 
keep down surplus population. The very century in 
which Malthus died disproved his melancholy theory, 
mentioned here merely because of its historical impor- 
tance. As we have seen, not only were new areas of 
production opened, but also upon old lands intensive 
farming was practiced. A progressive society, character- 
ized by invention and cooperation, can set no arbitrary 
limit to its productivity. Again, the same century pro- 
duced a falling birth rate which, as a negative check, 
makes unnecessary the operation of such positive checks 



Our Increasing Population 145 

as war and famine in the process of adjusting population 
to food supply. 

It may be stated that, while the growth of population is 
limited by food supply and general economic conditions, 
it is impossible to lay down any exact laws upon Modem 
the subject. Savages in the hunting and fishing opmwn - 
stage do not develop a dense population. The American 
Indians were probably not more numerous in the days of 
Columbus than at present, but had apparently reached 
their maximum growth of population. A whole continent 
can support only a sparse population so long as it is used as 
a hunting ground. When the pastoral stage is reached a 
given area will support more people, but a wandering life 
necessitates large areas inadequately developed. A fairly 
dense population only develops when the agricultural 
stage is reached. The fourth stage, that of commerce and 
manufacturing, has produced a congestion in cities and a 
density of population unparalleled in history. 

The 1920 census found over 117,000,000 people living 
under the American flag, 105,000,000 of whom resided in 
continental United States. In point of numbers China 
with its four hundred millions comes first. Should this 
nation take hold of western civilization as did Japan, it is 
destined to become a mighty factor in the world of 
to-morrow. We have already compared the populations 
of the nations of western Europe in 1800 with the figures 
for 1900 and have seen the remarkable increase during 
the past century. Let us now compare the latter figures 
with those for 1910 before the calamitous destruction of 
life wrought by the World War interfered with the normal 
growth of population. 

In the first decade of the nineteenth century European 
K 



146 Problems of American Democracy 

Russia jumped from one hundred six to one hundred 
thirty-four millions, Germany from fifty-six to 
countries! sixty-five, France from thirty-nine to thirty-nine 
and one-half millions, Great Britain and Ireland 
from forty-two to forty-five, Austria from forty-five to 
forty-nine, Italy from thirty-two to thirty-five, Spain from 
eighteen and one-half to nineteen and one-half millions, and 
continental United States from seventy-six to ninety-two 
millions. Looking over the figures for Europe we notice 
first of all that, generally speaking, there seems to be in this 
decade no diminution in the rapid rate of increase which 
marked the last century. In the second place, the rate of 
increase varies greatly in the different countries and, if 
continued, this difference will greatly affect their future 
relative importance. In spite of a high death rate, Russia 
leads the list because of an enormous birth rate. Thus 
that nation when stabilized may become a still greater 
factor in future European politics, although a high birth 
rate and a high death rate indicate a relatively backward 
civilization. France and Germany afford an interesting 
comparison. While Germany comes second in rate of 
increase, France is last in the list, for her population is 
little more than stationary. If the ratios for the first 
ten years are typical of the century, the relative im- 
portance of these nations will be greatly affected. A 
century from now, a country of forty million people will 
be of little more importance than Holland or Belgium 
is at present. 

Immigration has played an important part in the 
enormous increase in the population of the United States. 
At the time when our independence was achieved there 
were about three million people inhabiting the thirteen 



Our Increasing Population 



147 



original states. Since then, in every generation of thirty 
years, our population has doubled itself. Natu- 
rally the increase has been greatest in the newer United 
states of the West. The following table shows 
the result of each census : 

1790— 3,929,214 
1800— 5,308,483 
1810 — 7,239,881 
1820— 9,638,453 
1830 — 12,866,020 
1840—17,069,453 
1850— 23,191,876 



i860— 31,443,321 
1870— 38,558,371 
1880— 50,155,783 
1890—62,947,714 
1900— 75,994,575 
1910 — 91,972,266 
1920 — 105,708,771 



There is, also a very interesting relation between the 
increase of population by native birth rate and that by 
foreign immigration, as can be seen from the following 
table : 



Year 


Per Cent of 
Total Increase 


Per Cent 
by Immigration 


Per Cent 
by Birth 


1840 


32.67 


4.66 


28.01 


1850 


35-87 


10.04 


25-83 


i860 


35-58 


11. 12 


24.46 


1870 


22.63 


7-25 


I5-38 


1880 


30.08 


7.29 


22.79 


1890 


25-5° 


10.46 


I5-04 


1900 


20.73 


5.86 


14.87 


1910 


21.02 


n-57 


9-45 


1920 


15.00 


4-5o 


10.50 



This table shows that, generally speaking, as the rate of 
foreign immigration has increased the native birth rate has 
fallen. Hence Professor Walker argues that it is doubtful 
whether foreign immigration has actually increased the 



148 Problems of American Democracy 

sum total of our population, which was increasing as 
rapidly before the enormous wave of immigration as after- 
wards. Again, although the South has received little 
immigration since the Civil War, her population has 
increased proportionately just as rapidly as has the popu- 
lation of the North, which has been recruited by foreign 
immigration. 

Distribution of Population. — About one-half of the 

world's population lives in Asia and one-quarter in Europe. 

The remaining dry land of the globe including 

ical distri- Africa, Australia, North and South America 

bution. / 

contains little over a quarter of the world's 
total population. In Europe the industrial nations of 
Belgium and England are the most densely populated. 
Before the World War Belgium had an average population 
of six hundred and thirty-six per square mile. Italy and 
Germany come next with a respective density of one 
hundred and six and one hundred and four people per 
square kilometer. The least densely populated of all 
Europe are Russia and Scandinavia. As compared with 
western Europe, the United States is sparsely peopled. 
Germany, for example, before the World War was ten times 
as densely populated as our own country. The average 
density for the United States as a whole is thirty-one per 
square mile. The center of population, however, has been 
moving steadily westward from the older states along the 
Atlantic seaboard. When the first census was taken in 
1790 this center was located near Baltimore, but it has 
moved steadily westward through Maryland, Virginia, 
West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana. The 1920 census 
located it in Owen County in southwestern Indiana. 
The dry climate and high altitude of our mountain states 



Our Increasing Population 149 

of the West make a dense population improbable in that 
region. The density of population in the eastern states is 
much greater than in the western, for the East is the com- 
mercial and industrial section where numerous large cities 
nourish. Indeed, at present, a trifle over half our entire 
population lives in cities of twenty-five hundred or more 
inhabitants. About five per cent of our entire population 
is within the limits of greater New York City. 

About nine-tenths of our population is white, while the 
remaining one-tenth is negro, most of whom are located 
south of the Mason and Dixon line. There are 0ther 
about one-fourth of a million Indians, and about methods: 
one hundred fifty thousand Mongolians, chiefly 
located in California. This number of Mongolians is 
divided unevenly between the Chinese and the Japanese. 

About eighty-five per cent of our present population is 
native born, the remaining fifteen per cent being foreign. 
The number of those of foreign parentage is 

.,1 1 • 1 1 1 ■ ■ 1 Nativity. 

stiil higher and reaches a maximum m the 
New England and Middle Atlantic States of over twenty- 
five per cent. As we shall see later, there is a great ten- 
dency of our foreign-born population to become congested 
in the cities. 

How nature provides for the approximate numerical 
equality of the sexes is a problem of biology, but that such 
is the case may be seen by examining large num- 
bers of birth records. As men are more likely to 
migrate than women, new countries, like our own, affected by 
immigration will show a slight excess of males over females. 
Older countries, affected by emigration, show a slight excess 
of females. War tends to reduce the proportion of males. 
In the United States there is an excess of two and one- 



i5o 



Problems of American Democracy 



Age. 



half million males over the number of females. In Europe 
before the World War there was a slight excess of women, 
which disproportion has since been increased. 

The average age in the United States is approximately 
twenty-six years, and the proportion of those over the 
legal age of twenty-one is slightly over one- 
half. The proportion of males of military age 
from eighteen to forty-five years is about one-fifth the 
population, or approximately twenty millions. About 
the same proportion makes up the school population of 
the country. 

Vital Statistics.— Under vital statistics are included 
the records of births and deaths in a nation. These are 
reckoned according to every thousand of the 
population. Thus a death rate of nineteen and 
seven-tenths would mean that, in a given year in a given 
community, an average of slightly over nineteen people 
died out of every thousand of the population. Death 
records are fairly accurate, but in spite of legal require- 
ments the registration of births in our country is far from 
complete. 

We have seen that the population of Europe, before the 
World War, was increasing. This was true in spite of a 
falling birth rate, for the death rate had also fallen so that 
there was still a considerable excess of births over deaths. 
Let us examine the birth rates of three typical nations : 



Meaning. 



Countries 


1871-1880 


1881-1890 


1891-1900 


1 900- 1 909 


Germany 

England and Wales 
France 


39-i 

35-5 
25-4 


36.8 
23-5 
23-9 


36.1 
30.0 
22.1 


34-o 
27.6 

20.8 



Our Increasing Population 151 

The above table is evidence of a declining birth rate in 
three leading countries of Europe. This fact is extremely 
significant, for it seems to indicate that a high A falling 
civilization is characterized by a low birth rate. birth rate : 

lit EtlTO i)C 

Again, the difference m the birth rates of 
Germany and France is most striking. There are many 
reasons for this difference, but perhaps the most important 
is the economic. Germany in the last generation made 
wonderful industrial progress and became capable of sup- 
porting a large population, while in France economic and 
social conditions were not so favorable to the growth of 
large families. For example, French law requires an equal 
division of the father's property among the children. 
This plan has encouraged small families among the peasants 
so that the holdings of each son may not be too small. 
This low birth rate has been a problem to French states- 
men, and a scheme of taxation has even been proposed to 
meet the situation. According to one plan suggested, the 
highest tax would fall upon bachelors, whereas a father of 
three children might be entirely exempt from taxation. 

In America, a similar but not so pressing a problem 
exists, for we are facing a decrease in the birth rate of our 
native white stock. The average size of the American 
family has decreased from five and six- tenths in 1850 
to four and three-tenths in 1920. Thus in the last 
half century it has decreased by more than one 
person. The falling birth rate is most noticeable in New 
England, so that the very phenomenon occurring in France 
is equally visible in Vermont and New Hampshire. 
This decrease is most apparent when we compare our 
native birth rate with the birth rate of- our immigrants. 
In 1 9 10, in Massachusetts, the native birth rate was four- 



152 Problems of American Democracy 

teen and eight-tenths, while the birth rate of the foreign 

born was forty-nine and five-tenths. The death rates of 

native born and foreign born were sixteen and 

In America. 

three-tenths and fifteen and five-tenths respec- 
tively. Hence the native stock in Massachusetts is decreas- 
ing, as the birth rate is actually lower than the death rate. 
Among the foreign immigrants, however, the surplus of births 
over deaths is enormous. What will be the future of 
Puritan New England if this situation continues and who 
will inherit the land of the Pilgrim fathers? In the South, 
however, the situation is not so serious, for there the native 
white stock is holding its own. 

The most important cause of the declining birth rate 
among our native white stock is found in the economic 
_,, situation. American standards of living have 

The causes. # ° 

been constantly rising, while wages have not 
risen proportionately. This relatively lower increase in 
wages has been attributed to the lower standards of 
immigrant laborers who, in their competition with 
native laborers, force down wages. As a consequence, 
the American seems to be delaying the age of marriage, 
with the result of the small family. A moderate income 
will not permit him to rear a large family, if he 
wishes to give to his children desired advantages. The 
increase in the cost of living has exceeded the increase in 
wages and far outstripped the salary of the so-called 
middle classes. As a result, the birth rate falls rather than 
the standard of living. Curiously enough the size of the 
family seems to vary inversely with extremes of income. 
What has been said above applies mainly to the great 
middle class. Comparing the so-called upper and lower 
classes of American society, based upon income, we find 



Our Increasing Population 



153 



that the birth rate of the " laboring class" is much higher 
than that of the "social set." In this latter case, a desire 
for luxurious ease and comfort often militates against 
large families. In addition to selfishness, there are many 
other causes, beside the economic, which help to explain 
the declining birth rate of native white Americans. 

From the following table we may observe a falling death 
rate in three leading European countries: 



Countries 


1875-1899 


1900 


1900-1909 


Germany 

England and Wales 
France 


24.4 

19-3 
22.0 


22.1 
18.2 
21. g 


19-5 
15-8 
19.8 



This fact of a falling death rate is also true of our own 
country. Thus the death rate in Massachusetts fell, in 
ten years, from nineteen and three-tenths to . falline: 
seventeen and seven-tenths. In the same decade death rate : 

The TCdsofts 

the death rate in the state of New York fell 
from nineteen and six-tenths to seventeen and nine-tenths. 
The stage of civilization attained by a people may be read 
in the death rate of a nation, for enlightened countries 
attempt to prolong human life and to lessen preventable 
diseases. Modern medical science has done much in this 
direction. In the last century the death rate of cities has 
been cut in half by a knowledge of public hygiene and 
sanitation. One by one the causes and carriers of disease 
are being discovered and conquered. The elimination of 
typhoid by a more careful disposal of sewage, of yellow 
fever by the extermination of the mosquito, and of small- 
pox by compulsory vaccination are the triumphs of medical 
science. The crusade against tuberculosis is still being 



154 Problems of American Democracy 

waged. However, infant mortality, although decreasing, 
is still high. Baby-saving campaigns have resulted in 
popular education upon this subject. Clean milk and 
flyless homes will accomplish marvels. At the present 
time, however, one-half of all infants born die before the 
age of five years. As recently as 1900, in the registered 
area of the United States, sixteen and two-tenths per cent 
of all children born died within the first year. 

War is an obivously important factor affecting the death 
rate. Again, economic depression raises the price of food 
other and with it the death rate. Industrial accidents 

influences. yjj t h ousan( } s annually in the United States 
alone, and occupational diseases take a terrible toll. 
Climate and season are two other important factors 
influencing the death rate. In cold climates winter is 
often fatal, while in warm lands summer brings the dreaded 
fever. It would seem that sex and conjugal condition are 
also factors in longevity, for apparently males are shorter- 
lived than females, and bachelors do not live as long as 
married men. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1 . Why do you think the population of Europe during the Middle 
Ages was stationary? 

2. Show the great increase during the 19th century. 

3. Give reasons for it. 

4. State the theory of Malthus. 

5. Criticize it and show the falsity of his fears. 

6. Compare the countries of Europe in respect to their rates of 
increase. 

7. Show the enormous rate of increase of population in the United 
States. 

8. To what is this due? 

9. What continents are most densely populated? 



Our Increasing Population 155 

10. What countries of Europe are the most and least densely 
populated? 

11. What is the average density of population in the United States? 

12. How does it vary from East to West? 

13. How does it compare with Europe? 

14. Show how the center of population has moved westward. 

15. Show how our population is distributed by race; by nativity. 

16. Distribute population according to sex; according to age. 

17. What are vital statistics? 

18. Compare the birth rates in France and Germany. 

19. Compare the birth rates in America of the native and foreign 
born. 

20. What will be the result if this difference continues? 

21. Give reason for our falling native birth rate. 

22. Where is it most, and where least, apparent? 

23. Show the falling death rate in Europe. In America. State 
the reasons. 

24. Describe some other influences that affect the death rate. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Effects upon population of scientific farming. 

2. Pressure of population upon food supply in China and India. 

3. Thomas Mai thus — his writings and their effects. 

4. The Law of Diminishing Returns from land. 

5. Relation between the above law and the Malthusian theory 
of population. 

6. The causes for the increase in Germany's population from 
1870-1910. 

7. Medical science and the lowering of the death rate. 

8. Infant mortality — causes, effects, remedies. 

9. Relation between occupation and density of population. 

REFERENCES 

Bailey. Modern Social Conditions. Chapters III to VI inclusive. 

Bonar. Malthus and His Work. 

Ellwood, C. A. Sociology and Modern Social Problems. Chapter 

rx. 



156 Problems of American Democracy 

Mangold, G. B. Problems of Child Welfare. Chapters I— III. 
Mill, J. S. Principles of Political Economy. Book 1. 
Newsholme, T. The Declining Birth Rate. 
Quick, H. The Good Ship Earth. 
United States Census Reports. 



CHAPTER XIII 

Americans — Old and New 

I. Early immigration of the nineteenth century 
i . Waves of immigration : 

a. Number 

b. Causes 

2. Nationalities represented : 

a. Irish 

b. Germans 

c. Scandinavians 
II. Later sources 

i. The change 

2. Italians 

3. Slavs 

4. Russian Jews 

5. Other groups 

Early Immigration of the Nineteenth Century. — 

The increase in our national population, as already indi- 
cated, was partially the result of successive 

Vi^flvcs of 

waves of immigration that came to America immigra- 
from Europe. This immigration has affected n^\ 
our racial and social heredity. The new element 
has influenced and, in turn, been influenced by our social 
environment. These newly transplanted Europeans repre- 

157 



158 Problems of American Democracy 

sent various strange nationalities of the Old World and 
present a serious problem of adjustment in the New World, 
As water seeks its level, so population moves from dense to 
sparsely settled regions. The countries principally con- 
tributing to our early immigration were Great Britain 
and Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia. Between 1820, 
the first year for which we have statistics, and the 
present time over thirty million immigrants have come 
to America. Half of this number has arrived since 1890, 
which date marks the beginning of immigration on a 
large scale. During this period, the sources of immi- 
gration have steadily shifted from northern Europe to 
the Mediterranean lands. For this reason we speak of 
the early, and of the later, immigration of the nineteenth 
century. 

In 1820 the number of immigrants was eight thousand. 

This group increased slowly, not passing the one hundred 

thousand mark until the 'forties were reached. 

Causes. . . 

Two significant dates are 1846 and 1848. The 
former marked the failure of the potato crop in Ireland, while 
the latter ushered in the political revolutions of Central 
Europe. Both events sent large numbers of immigrants to 
America, but the increase of numbers was checked by the 
outbreak of the Civil War. In the 'seventies the numbers 
rose again, growing still larger in the 'eighties. The propor- 
tion declined, however, during the 'nineties. With the open- 
ing of the twentieth century and up until the outbreak of 
the World War, immigration to the United States assumed 
enormous proportions, passing the mark of one million 
annually. It is interesting to note how the fluctuations in 
immigration have corresponded to economic conditions in 
the United States. The curve of migration corresponds 



Americans — Old and New 159 

almost exactly with the rise and fall of national prosperity 
in this country. 

Because our institutions are modeled largely upon those 
of Great Britain, American history has its beginnings in 
England. Her contribution to the early colonists „ . .. 
was numerically the greatest — English, Scotch, ties: 
and Welsh immigration to this country continu- 
ing long after the war for independence. Ireland, however, 
has occupied a unique position in American history. 
From 1820 to 1850 the Irish made up two-fifths, and, 
during the 'fifties, one-third of our total immigration. The 
population of the island was reduced one-half by famine 
and emigration. There are probably now more Irish in 
America than in Ireland itself, and the people have 
decidedly colored our national character. At first the 
Irish immigrant was received into the "pick and shovel 
caste," but he has risen rapidly from the ranks of unskilled 
labor to positions of honor and trust in the community. 
Many Americans prominent in public life are of Irish 
descent, for they have shown rare capacity in executive 
positions. v Many, however, have not advanced, because 
the Irish-American, as compared with the German- 
American, seems to fall into extremes of conduct. 

The German-American element in our population is of 
equal importance. Over five millions of Germans came to 
this country during the last century. At first, The 
this migration was due to religious oppression, Germans - 
but later it was the result of political oppression. As com- 
pared with the Irish, this group of immigrants was steady, 
thrifty, and provident. Because of different language and 
customs, the German element in this country has been more 
difficult to assimilate than the Irish. Germans tend to 



160 Problems of American Democracy 

settle in communities, like those in Pennsylvania, Mis- 
souri, Illinois, and Wisconsin. They have become skilled 
artisans, and small tradesmen and they have also attached 
themselves to the soil. The Irish have been fond of com- 
petitive sports and athletic games, but the German- 
American has found interest in gymnastic societies, festi- 
vals, and choruses requiring cooperation rather than 
competition. The Irish policeman and the German band 
were typical of opposing racial characteristics. 

At the present time there are probably over a million 

people in the United States who were born in Norway, 

Sweden, or Denmark. Norway has given to us 

Scandi- a greater percentage of her people than any 

navians. 

other country except Ireland. I he home of the 
Scandinavian immigrant has been the Northwest, including 
the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, North and 
South Dakota, and Iowa. The Irish immigrants were 
almost entirely Catholic, but the Scandinavians were 
Protestant. This group has recruited the rural farming 
population of our country and has also played an important 
part in the lumbering and transportation industries. In 
point of literacy this group leads. Like the German and 
the Irish migration, the Scandinavian immigration to this 
country has about ceased. 

Later Sources. — In the last two decades of the nine- 
teenth century a remarkable change began to take place in 
The the character of American immigration. Pre- 

change. viously, the source of supply had been drawn 
from northern Europe in the Teutonic and Celtic countries 
of Scandinavia, Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland. 
Now the source of supply began to shift to the Southeast, 
including the countries of Italy, Austria, Hungary, and 



Americans — Old and New 161 

Russia. This change is easily perceived by a study of the 
following table, which gives* the percentage of immigration 
for six groups: 

18S2 1907 

Great Britain and Ireland .... 22.8% 8.8% 

Germany 3*-7% 2.9% 

Scandinavia 13-3% 3-9% 

Total 67.8% 15.6% 

Italy 4.1% 22.2% 

Austria-Hungary 3-7% 26.3% 

Russia . 2.7% 20.1% 

Total 10.5% 68.6% 

This table shows that, during recent times, the per- 
centages of immigration from the countries of northern 
and souther Europe have been practically reversed. The 
change in the character of our immigration is likewise 
significant. A line drawn diagonally across Europe from 
northeast to southwest separates two distinct civilizations. 
The northern area (except France, from which we receive 
few immigrants, and Ireland) is Protestant and, generally 
speaking, has been accustomed to some degree of political 
freedom. The southern area is Catholic in religion and, as 
yet, not altogether accustomed to free institutions. Such 
a geographical line would also separate literacy from 
illiteracy, and the intelligent artisan and farmer from a 
backward peasantry scarcely removed from serfdom. 
Finally, it would separate the Teutonic races from the 
Latin and the Slav. The European type north of this 
imaginary line is similar to our colonial stock and is 
capable of adjusting itself to American institutions. The 
races to the Southeast, however, present a more difficult 
problem of amalgamation. Whereas in earlier times the 

L 



162 



Problems of American Democracy 



immigrants to America often sought a refuge from 
religious and political persecution, the cause of the 
more recent immigration is largely economic. 




Americans oe the Future — Waiting at Ellis Island 

Before the World War, Italy was sending to our shores 
between one quarter and one half a million immigrants 
The annually. The reason for this Italian immigra- 

itaiians. ^ on j g en ^ re ]_y economic, for in the native land 
living has become precarious. The rich resources of 
America call the Italian from his impoverished and over- 
populated land. The Italian immigration has settled 
largely in the North Atlantic states, showing a great 
tendency to congest in cities. Often an entire village has 
been transplanted to one street in the ghetto of a great 
city. Only one-fifth of the immigrants are women, and 



Americans — Old and New 163 

the absence of family ties encourages a migratory life. 
Hence many shift from place to place, borne along with 
the tide of a fluctuating labor market. After acquiring 
a little of the world's wealth, they often seek to return to 
their native Italian village. A distinction, however, should 
be made between the North and the South Italian stocks, 
which are fundamentally different. This racial distinction 
may be read in different physical characteristics, while 
traits of character are also divergent. The better class of 
north Italian stock often seeks Argentina and other South 
American lands, where it becomes an important factor in 
industrial enterprises. The occupations of the Italian in 
America include construction work, trading, and farming, 
as well as many forms of unskilled labor. 

At the present time there are nearly two million Slavs in 
the United States, half of whom are Poles. So great is the 
number of the various Slavic groups that their 

r The Slavs. 

European habitat is a Babel of tongues and a 
mass of confusion. In numerical proportion we find, after 
the Poles, the following groups, — Bohemians, Moravians, 
Slovaks from the Carpathian Mountains, Slovenes from 
the head of the Adriatic, Croatians, Dalmations, Russians 
(exclusive of the Hebrews), Bulgarians, Servians, Monte- 
negrins, Slavonians, Ruthenians, Lithuanians, and Letts. 
Three-fourths of these immigrants are males, and their 
illiteracy is extremely high. The Slavs belong almost 
entirely to the class of unskilled labor which find occupa- 
tion in the mines and in the great manufacturing industries 
where brawn, not brain, is essential. They have settled 
mainly in the mining and industrial region which has its 
central point in western Pennsylvania. An exception is 
found in the case of Poles and Bohemians who settle upon 



164 Problems of American Democracy 

farms. The Slavs are remarkable for their fecundity. 
Large families and high birth rate are the rule. They are 
slow in assimilation, and many of their different groups 
seek to found in the New World a nationalism difficult 
of attainment in the old. The future of Slav immigration 
is of vital importance, for immigration has scarcely touched 
the millions of Slavs in Russia. So far most of this 
immgiration from Russia has been largely Hebrew in 
character. 

At the present time there are over two million Hebrew 
immigrants in America, so that one-fifth of all the Jews in 
Russian the world reside in the United States. America 
jews. - g m( j eec [ t^g " Promised Land." As compared 

with other groups, the Hebrew seeks to bring over his 
entire family and to make America his permanent home. 
The Jews have settled almost entirely in the cities, pre- 
ferring commerce and trading to manual labor. Garment 
and cigar making are more attractive to them than ordinary 
unskilled labor. The sweat shop industries are good 
examples of the exploitation of the Jewish immigrant. 
There are comparatively few Jews in prison or in the alms- 
houses. Intellectually, they rank higher than other immi- 
grants, as may be readily seen by the records of school 
children in foreign districts. Out of the six million Jews 
in the Russian pale, nearly two million have been forced to 
America by the fire of persecution. A background of 
centuries of race prejudice has so cemented this group that 
religious and other traditions at first prevent their 
quick absorption into American civilization. However, 
they later assume many American characteristics, and 
the rise of the Hebrew in wealth and social position is 
marvelous. 



Americans — Old and New 165 

The attempted Russiiication of Finland drove many- 
thousands of these people to America. Like the Swedes, 
the Finns have become farmers in our great other 
Northwest. The Magyars, or Hungarians, are groups - 
partly Mongul in blood and descended from the Asiatic 
invaders who settled in the plains of the Danube River. 
There are a quarter of a million of these Hungarians in 
our land and, like the Slavs, they may be found in the 
mining and industrial regions of America. ■ Many return 
to Europe with their American earnings, leaving behind, 
not infrequently, an undesirable record. During the last 
twenty years, about one hundred and fifty thousand 
Greeks have come to us from the land of Homer. Among 
this people, as well as the Italians, the padrone system of 
labor flourishes. Many boys live under a master, by whom 
and for whose benefit their labor is exploited. From 
Asiatic Turkey come not only the Turks, but also the 
Armenians and Syrians who peddle anything from olive 
oil to costly rugs. These people are subject to rigid immi- 
gration inspection, for the disease of trachoma or granulated 
eyelid is common among them. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. What European countries formerly sent us the greatest 
number of immigrants? 

2. What nations now lead in the number sent us? 

3. Show this change from statistics. 

4. When did it begin to take place? 

5. Compare the civilizations of Northern and Southern Europe 
with respect to the type of immigrant each sends us. 

6. Compare the causes of the earlier and later immigration. 

7. Give the causes of the Italian immigration. 

8. Compare the North Italian and the South Italian type. 



1 66 Problems of American Democracy 

0. Give the characteristics of the Slav group and compare it 
with the Italian. 

10. Give the characteristics of the Hebrew immigrants from South 
Russia. 

11. Name and describe the other lesser groups. 

12. Where geographically, and in what particular industries, does 
each immigrant group tend to settle? 

13. Try to trace back your own descent. 

14. What elements came into our population about the middle of 
the nineteenth century? Describe each. 

15. What has been the nature of immigration to this country 
since 1880? 

16. Give some general characteristics of these later groups. 

17. What great problem has this change in immigration given 
rise to? Explain. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The old and the new causes of immigration. 

2. Immigration and the Revolutions of 1848. 

3. Immigration and the Irish famine of 1847. 

4. The European background of immigration. 

5. Russia's treatment of the Jews. 

6. The World War and immigration. 

7. A program of Americanization. 

8. The steerage passage to America. 

REFERENCES 

Commons, J. R. Races and Immigrants in America. 
Falrchild, H. P. Immigration. 
Hall, P. F. Immigration. 

Reports United States Immigration Commission. 
Rus, J. A. Making of an American. 
Ross, E. A. The Old World in the New. 
Stelner, E. A. On the Trail of the Immigrant. 
Steiner, E. A. The Immigrant Tide. 



CHAPTER XIV 

The Problem of Immigration 

I. Distribution of immigrants 
i. Geographical 
2. Industrial 
II. Effects of immigration 
i . Economic effect 

2. Social effect 

3. Political effect 

4. Illiteracy 

5. Poverty and crime 

6. Other social effects 

III. Asiatic immigration 

1. Its history 

2. Its problems 

IV. Restrictions on immigration 

1 . The usual restrictions 

2. The literacy test 

3. A temporary check 

Distribution of Immigrants. — We have just observed 
the tendency of immigrants to congest into groups and 
have noted the favored spot of each national 
group. If, however, the immigrants to this ^Iphicai. 
country had distributed themselves evenly 
throughout the length and breadth of the land, the problem 
of immigration would be easy of solution. But, as a matter 
of fact, those who have come to this country from Europe 
have settled largely in the great cities, and in the North 
Atlantic and Middle states of the East, and in the North 
Central states of the Middle West. Only six per cent 

167 



1 68 Problems of American Democracy 

have settled in the far West and five per cent in the 
South. Of course the reason for this geographical con- 
centration is to be found in the fact that the West is 
agricultural, while the South is not only agricultural but 
is also well supplied with negro labor against whom 
competition is difficult. 

We have already seen the characteristic industries of the 
different nationalities of our immigrant population. As a 
. , , general conclusion, it is safe to say that four- 

Industrial. " , J 

fifths of our recent immigrants belong to the 
group known as unskilled labor. The important industries 
in which they are engaged are mining and manufacturing, 
construction work, transportation, and domestic service. 
Agriculture does not play an important part in the life of 
the immigrant. 

Effects of Immigration. — The economic effect of 
immigration is well illustrated by the attitude of organized 
Economic labor upon the question of unrestricted immi- 
gration. Organized labor asserts, with much 
truth, that immigrant labor has lowered wages by its 
willingness to submit to a lower standard of living than 
that accepted by the American workman. Therefore, just 
as the American manufacturer is protected, so should 
American labor be safe-guarded, in order that the higher 
standards of living of American workmen may not be 
lowered by the low wage of immigrant labor. On the 
other hand, there may be an economic need for unskilled 
immigrant labor to perform the work spurned by American 
labor. Hence, there seems to be a real place for immigrant 
labor in the United States. For example, great construction 
enterprises are carried on by gangs of immigrants, who toil 
in our mines and foundries to make America an industrial 



The Problem of Immigration 169 

leader. Instead of going upon the farm, colonies of 
foreigners settle around great industrial centers. As a 
result, the exploitation of the immigrant has been great. 
He is thrown into the maelstrom of industry with its long 
hours of work, dangerous trades, and unhealthy working 
conditions. This problem we shall meet again, but it is 
\most acute among the ignorant immigrant classes. If the 
American worker has been displaced by his lower-waged 
rival, he has more often been lifted into the higher plane 
of skilled industries. He has left, rather than been forced 
out of, the ranks of unskilled labor. 

The recent immigrants from southern Europe are racially 
different from native born Americans and from the earlier 
representatives of northern Europe, who were social 
close to us in blood and civilization. Conse- e ect * 
quently the newer immigrants are more difficult to assimi- 
late. Of course, America is the "melting pot" of nations, 
where there is brewing a national character whose exact 
nature is difficult to fortell. Whether the new mixture 
will be sociologically inferior or superior to the old, it is 
impossible to predict. Only its future development in the 
new environment can answer that question. The public 
schools are doing the wonderful work of Americanizing the 
children of the immigrants, and the rapidity of the process 
among the second generation is remarkable. Community 
centers and night schools are solving the more difficult 
problem among the older immigrants, who seek to learn at 
least the rudiments of our language. The homes in 
the congested immigrant section are frequently un- 
healthy, and the position of woman is often unfortunate. 
More than anything else, do we fear the lowering of 
American ideals and standards of living. 



170 



Problems of American Democracy 




A Crowded Street in New York's Ghetto 



The political effect of immigration may be seen especially 
in the conduct of municipal government in the United 
Political States. Massing in large groups in our great 
effect. industrial centers, immigrants here come to 

wield political power. Often the " declaration of intention " 
to become citizens of the United States has been sufficient 
qualification for voting in municipal elections. Conse- 



The Problem of Immigration 171 

quently, the political "boss" has rallied around him the 
foreign vote of our large cities in exchange for favors and 
rewards of various kinds and descriptions. If America is 
to have clean and efficient municipal government, our 
cities must be purged of this form of political bribery. 
During the World War, it was feared that the foreign vote 
and influence might play an insidious part in national 
politics and in international policies. However, this fear 
of the so-called "hyphenated" American seems to be 
groundless. 

The amount of illiteracy in the United States is due 
partly to the negro in the South and to the immigrant in 
the North. The World War revealed the pres- 

Illiteracy. 

ence of 7,000,000 adult illiterates in this country. 
The number of illiterates among the foreign born was 
about equal to that among the native born, in spite of the 
fact that the foreign born comprised only a small minority 
of our total population. In Massachusetts, the percentage 
of illiteracy for the native population was five-tenths per 
cent, and for the foreign born twelve and seven-tenths 
per cent. 

A special prison census taken some years ago showed 
that twenty-three and seven-tenths per cent of the male 
white prisoners in the United States were Poverty 
foreign born, while for the same year twenty- andcnme - 
three per cent of the total male white population over the 
age of fifteen years were foreign born. Hence, our immi- 
grants do not seem to show an undue proportion of crime. 
The South Italian group, however, has an unenviable 
police record and shows a high proportion of serious crime. 
The children of immigrants also show a remarkable tendency 
toward crime. This is due more to the bad social environ- 



172 Problems of American Democracy 

merit of the city slums in which they are reared than to a 
criminal tendency in their racial heredity. In the matter 
of poverty and dependency, the immigrants also have an 
undesirable record. The number of foreign born in our 
almshouses is greater than the number of native born 
whites, although this group constitutes less than one-fifth 
of the total white population. More stringent laws 
regarding immigration will undoubtedly cut down this 
excessive proportion of dependency among the foreign born. 

Among the recent immigrants, there are about three 
times as many men as women. This has affected the 
_ . proportion of sexes in the United States and 

social has produced a slight excess of males in our 

total population. A numerical disproportion of 
the sexes is undesirable. Again, the social evil of vice 
and immorality has been accentuated by immigration. 
Inspectors must keep a vigilant watch to prevent the 
importation and exploitation of friendless women. Another 
social effect of immigration is found in the tendency to 
keep down, relatively, the native birth rate. In America, 
the birth rate of the foreign immigrant is much higher than 
that of the native white stock. 

Asiatic Immigration. — European immigration has 
come to this country by way of the Atlantic and at first 
its settled largely in our eastern section. A smaller 

Asiatic immigration has crossed the Pacific and 
settled along our western coast, principally in the state of 
California. The immigration of the Chinese began with 
the discovery of gold in 1849. They later crossed in such 
large numbers that Congress in 1882 passed a Chinese 
Exclusion Act. This deliberately and completely forbade 
the entrance of Chinese of the laboring class into this 



The Problem of Immigration 173 

country. The proportion of Chinese has therefore declined, 
until at present there are only about seventy-two thousand 
in the United States. They are found as small tradesmen, 
in domestic service, and in the fruit and truck industries of 
California. Our colonial possessions in the Pacific Ocean 
have a large proportion of Mongolians. These islands 
have been stepping-stones to America, although numerous 
stories are current as to how the Chinese have smuggled 
themselves across the northern border from the Dominion 
of Canada. British Columbia has a similar problem in the 
immigration of cheap Hindu laborers known as coolies. As 
yet the number of these people in our own land is insignificant. 
The Japanese on our Pacific coast, however, have been a prob- 
lem of increasing importance. Although these Asiatics did 
not begin to cross -over to America until after the Chinese, 
they now outnumber the latter. They have settled, likewise, 
in the cities and agricultural valleys of the Pacific slope, a 
considerable proportion of the fruit industry of California 
having been developed by them. As their numbers 
increased, the industrial competition and race friction grew 
more acute, and to-day a slight race problem exists in 
California. The legislation of the state discriminates 
against the Japanese in matters of land holding and public 
school education. This situation has caused the national 
government considerable uneasiness and has often strained 
the friendly relations between the two great nations. 
There is no Japanese exclusion act, but a "gentlemen's 
agreement" between the two governments lessens the 
amount of Japanese immigration to this country. 

The problems arising from the Asiatic immigration are 
more intense than those resulting from European im- 
migration. Illiteracy is high among Asiatics, as is also 



174 Problems of American Democracy 

the disproportion between the sexes, for the Oriental 
immigration is almost entirely male. Many also have 
its not sought to make America their permanent 

problems. h omej Du t to return to Asia with the wealth 
secured in the new land. The industrial problem of low 
wages and low standards of living is intensified with 
Asiatic immigration, while the political objection to such 
immigration also holds. More important than either, 
however, is the social effect of Asiatic immigration, because 
the Mongolian presents an almost impossible problem of 
assimilation. The Asiatics are so homogeneous that race 
difference presents in their case a barrier regarded by many 
as insuperable. If this Oriental immigration were not 
excluded, America would be confronted with a Mongolian 
race problem in the West similar to the negro problem in 
the South. We have seen that, other things being equal, 
immigration tends to move from a dense area of popula- 
tion to a rich and sparsely settled region. Hence the 
pressure of the millions of over-populated Asia upon the 
thinly settled lands of the New World. To overcome 
this undesirable mixture of such totally alien groups, a 
policy of exclusion seems to offer the only effective remedy. 
Restrictions Upon Immigration. — Except for the 
exclusion of Asiatics, little restriction until recently has 
The usual been placed by our national government upon 
restrictions. f ore ig n immigration. Because our territory 
seemed boundless and our resources limitless, we welcomed 
European settlers to help us lay the foundation's of our 
future greatness. But now our national boundaries seem 
fixed, and free land in the United States is being gradually 
exhausted. Again, the character of our immigration has 
changed, and the south European stocks bring us a different 



The Problem of Immigration 175 

racial heredity. The older immigrants delight to call 
themselves Americans and would exclude as "undesirable" 
the newer arrivals. In this there is an element of truth. 
Many European nations have often used the United States 
as a "dumping ground" for criminals, paupers, and 
defectives. Agitation for restriction upon immigration 
goes as far back as the "Native American" and "Know 
Nothing" parties of the ante helium days. In 1875 a law 
was passed excluding criminals and immoral women from 
our shores. In 1888 the labor unions succeeded in having 
Congress pass a law prohibiting the importation of foreign 
contract labor. Numerous immigration laws have been 
passed in recent years, and offices of inspection have been 
created to keep out the following classes of undesirables: 
(1) contract labor; (2) anarchists; (3) those immigrating 
for immoral purposes; (4) criminals (except for political 
offenses not recognized by the United States) ; (5) paupers 
and those likely to become public charges because of lack of 
visible means of support; (6) mental defectives, such as the 
insane and feeble minded; and (7) those having infectious 
diseases, such as tuberculosis or trachoma. Steamship 
companies, which formerly made large dividends from their 
steerage cargo, are now required to transport back to 
their native land all immigrants who fail to pass our 
inspection laws. If the tests were made in European ports, 
the futile journey across the sea would be avoided. At pres- 
ent, Ellis Island, near New York City, is the great inspec- 
tion point and clearing house for arriving immigrants. 

These restrictions do not seem stringent enough for the 
leaders of organized labor, who oppose the competition of 
the low- waged immigrant. Many advocate a greater head 
tax or possession by the immigrant upon his entry into 



176 Problems of American Democracy 

America of a certain specified sum of money. The most 
popular scheme, however, is the literacy test which requires 

the applicant for admission to our shores to 
literacy be able to read or write in some language, not 

necessarily English. Such a bill passed Con- 
gress at different sessions, but was vetoed successively by 
Presidents Cleveland, Taft, and Wilson. However, this bill 
was finally enacted into law over President Wilson's veto. 
Such a test cuts down the amount of immigration, if this 
is the only end desired. It is easy of application and may 
be applied at foreign ports, thus saving the passage to 
America of many otherwise disappointed immigrants. 
Many, however, do not desire this restriction on immigra- 
tion because they feel America needs a supply of unskilled 
labor. Again, others feel that the infusion of new blood, 
as well as the various cultures of Europe, will make the 
future America richer and better after the difficult period 
of adjustment and assimilation is passed. Granting, for 
the sake of argument, that it is necessary to restrict the 
amount of immigration, will the literacy test be most 
productive of good results? The easiest way is not always 
the best. Ability to read or write does not necessarily 
mean good citizenship. A literacy test may not be the 
best means of selection, because it is neither an accurate 
valuation of the biological worth of a particular stock nor 
a measure of individual character and native ability. 

During the World War immigration from Europe 
practically ceased. With its conclusion in the autumn of 
A tempo- 19 1 8 the problem of immigration assumed a 
rary c ec . new aS p ec |- # Vast numbers of European immi- 
grants sought admission to America as an escape from the 
ravages of war and from the burden of excessive taxation. 



The Problem of Immigration 177 

Within a year after the cessation of hostilities the number 
of Europeans desiring to migrate to America grew to alarm- 
ing proportions. The war had shown us, however, the 
evils of undigested elements in our population, and the 
danger of admitting immigrants at such a rapid rate that 
their assimilation and Americanization might be difficult. 
This popular fear was expressed in the 1920-21 session of 
Congress. A law was passed which temporarily restricted 
the immigration of any foreign group to three per cent of 
the number of that nationality residing in the United 
States at the time of the 19 10 census. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Explain the geographical distribution of immigrants in the 
United States. 

2. What are the chief occupations of the immigrants? 

3. Explain the economic problem resulting from immigration. 

4. Explain the social problem. 

5. Discuss the political effects of immigration. 

6. State the effect of immigration upon crime. 

7. State the effect of immigration upon pauperism. 

8. Give the history of Asiatic immigration to America. 

9. Where and in what industries have the Orientals settled? 

10. Why was the Chinese Exclusion Act necessary? 

11. What is the situation with Japan in this respect? 

12. What is the economic basis of the so-called "Yellow Peril"? 

13. What groups of immigrants were first excluded? 

14. Make out a case for and against the literacy test. 

15. What is your own opinion with respect to temporary restric- 
tions upon immigration? 

16. Discuss the good that may result from the intermingling of 
races in America. 

17. Explain the temporary or permanent evils that may result 
from such intermingling. 

M 



178 Problems of American Democracy 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1 . Ellis Island. 

2. A foreign quarter with which you are familiar. 

3. A study of localities where the percentage of foreign born, or 
the percentage of those born of foreign parentage, is comparatively 
high. 

4. The 1 92 1 law for proportional restriction of immigration. 

5. Organized labor and the unskilled immigrant. 

6. Resolved "that all immigration to the United States should 
b>e prohibited." 

7 . The effect of the exclusion of immigrants upon wages and prices. 

8. Immigration and Americanization. 

9. The consequences of the Japanese dogma of racial equality. 

REFERENCES 

Antin, M. The Promised Land. 

Brandenburg, B. Imported Americans. 

Coolidge, M. R. Chinese Immigration^ 

Hourwich, I. A. Immigration and Labor. 

Kawakami, K. K. Asia at the Door. 

Kelsey, C The Physical Basis of Society. Chapter IX. 

Mayo-Smith. Statistics and Sociology^ Chapters IV to VIII. 

Steiner, E. A. From Alien to Citizen. 

Warn, F. J. The Immigrant Invasion. 

-Zangwill, I. The Melting Pot. 



CHAPTER XV 

The American Race Problem 

I. Background of the Negro 
i. Origin of race 

2. The African environment 

3. Slave trade 

4. Slave life 

5. Negro characteristics 
II. Number of Negroes 

1. The increase 

2. The distribution 
III. Problems of the Negro 

1. Reconstruction 

2. The political problem 

3. Crime and pauperism 

4. Industrial problems : 

a. Farm life 

b. Other factors 

5. Education and leadership 

6. The solution 
IV. The Indian 

1. Early treatment 

2. Present condition 

In addition to the foreign immigrant the negro is another 
extraneous element in our population. He possesses a 
still different racial heredity and presents a difficult 
problem of readjustment to a new physical and social 
environment. 

179 



180 Problems of American Democracy 

Background of the Negro. — The biological evolution 
of mankind was probably from some one, rather than 
Origin of from several, of the more primitive species. 
From this common stock race differentiation 
probably took place. Whether the earliest man was 
white, black, or of a still different type cannot be positively 
asserted. Primitive man migrated in several directions 
from his original home in some central portion of the 
eastern hemisphere. The natural selection of different 
geographical environments seems slowly to have developed 
the different branches of the human race. An imaginary 
line drawn from England to Java is rich in fossil remains 
of primitive man. Such a line also separates the Mon- 
golian to the northeast in Asia from the negro to the 
southwest in Africa. The Caucasian race lies midway 
between the two regions, and its different branches occupy 
the various geographical environments outside this line. 
Hence some writers believe that here may be found the 
origin of the human species. One branch migrated to the 
northeast into Asia, another to the southwest into Africa, 
while still others, remaining in their original home, became 
the progenitors of the Caucasian race. The dark skin 
and other physical characteristics of the present negro 
had a survival value in the tropics of Africa. In the 
Asiatic environment there was a different set of survival 
values, and natural selection worked here to produce the 
Mongolian race. Long before the dawn of history, the 
natural selection of different environments thus slowly 
developed a differentiation into races of the primitive 
human stock. 

The tropical environment of the negro helps to explain 
his racial heredity, which in turn enables us to understand 



The American Race Problem 181 

many of his present physical and mental traits. The nature 
and permanency of his physical characteristics are obvious. 
The mental traits, however, are less apparent 
but equally important. The natural selection African ea- 

. vironment. 

of a tropical environment, operating for thou- 
sands of years, has produced in the negro qualities which 
cannot be overcome by a few centuries of civilization. 
A few examples will illustrate this point. Severe physical 
exertion is fatal in the tropics, so that the very energetic 
are usually eliminated. Here nature furnishes a bounti- 
ful supply of food and natural selection places no premium 
upon industry and foresight, as it does in colder climates of 
the North. Since the death rate is high, the birth rate 
must be correspondingly high in the group that survives. 
Thus, certain writers seek to explain the laziness, shiftless- 
ness, and irresponsibility of the negro as part of his racial 
heredity, which developed during thousands of years in 
the African tropics. 

The Spanish planters in the West Indies developed 
negro slavery before the first cargo of human beings was 
landed on the shores of Virginia in 1619. Many slave 
Englishmen of Elizabethan days sought to trade - 
monopolize this carrying trade. The gallant sea rovers 
who sailed the Spanish Main were merchantmen or pirates, 
slavers or men of war, as the occasion demanded. Hawkins 
made a fortune out of the slave trade and proclaimed this 
fact upon his family coat of arms. That enormous numbers 
of negroes were carried to America is attested by the large 
percentage of negro blood in the mixed races of Latin 
America. The population of Haiti consists largely of the 
descendants of slaves. In colonial days there was a 
famous triangular voyage in which mariners from the 



182 Problems of American Democracy 

North sold slaves to their southern cousins. The slaves 
were brought from Africa to the Spanish and English 
plantations, where molasses was taken on board for New 
England. Here it was made into rum with which to buy- 
more slaves in Africa. This was not difficult, for this 
institution flourished in that country where frequent 
tribal wars furnished a ready supply of slave labor. In 
some parts of Africa it was difficult to get three men to go 
on a journey together, for fear that two might conspire to 
sell the other into slavery. Later the Portuguese and 
Arabs monopolized the business of procuring slaves for 
sale on the coast. The passage to America was known as 
the middle voyage, and the negroes were crowded between 
decks which were so low that in many cases it was impos- 
sible to sit upright. So close together were they packed, 
that the group must turn over in mass at a given signal. 
The mortality was enormous because the sick, the crazed, 
and the blinded were often thrown overboard. Slavers 
calculated upon delivering but a part of their human cargo. 
This traffic was a dark blot upon American history, made 
darker by the fact that later the Mayflower was desecrated 
by use for such purposes. The national government for- 
bade the importation of slaves after 1808, while the Con- 
gress of Vienna held in 18 15 at the close of the Napoleonic 
wars legislated against the traffic in human lives. 

There are two sides to the story of slavery. In America 

the negro became Christianized and learned of a higher 

civilization. In some states, however, it was 

Slave life. . 

illegal to teach slaves to read and write. Con- 
ditions of life under slavery were probably not always so 
bad as they have been depicted. The material comforts 
of the American slave compared favorably with the life of 



The American Race Problem 183; 

European peasants of the same day. In most cases they 
were well housed, well fed, and well cared for, because the 
self-interest of even the cruel planter dictated such a 
course as profitable to himself. Slave-trading was most 
pernicious, however, because it broke up the family. 
At auction sales mother and children, husband and wife 
were often separated. Most of the slaves accepted their 
fate stoically, for their moral ideals were low and their 
conceptions of family life undeveloped. Furthermore, 
slavery was not calculated to develop in the negro a 
regard for the property rights of others. It was difficult 
for the slave to understand the institution of property 
when his own most sacred possession — life itself — was 
taken from him. As the master planned the present and 
future of the slave, it was unlikely also that slavery would 
develop individual initiative and self-control. Slavery 
thus hindered the development of independent manhood, 
and, merely from the economic standpoint, its evils 
necessitated its final abolition. 

We have seen the effects of a tropical environment upon 
the racial heredity of the negro. Some of these slavery 
accentuated, as, for example, the feeling of 
irresponsibility and an undeveloped moral sense. character- 
Under these circumstances, may we expect the 
family ideals of the negro to compare favorably with our 
own? Is it natural, too, that slaves, suddenly freed from 
compulsion, should readily acquire habits of steady 
industry? Indolence and shiftlessness are partially the 
results of the new liberty, which allows these elements in 
their racial heredity to reassert themselves. The ineffi- 
ciency of negro labor is due partly to his improvident 
recklessness, and partly to his newly acquired freedom. 



184 Problems of American Democracy 

Prohibition established itself in the South to make negro 
labor more efficient and to diminish crime. The negro's 
ignorance and superstition are proverbial, while his unclean- 
liness exacts a terrible toll. He is deeply religious, but 
relics of African folkways are to be found in his fabric of 
Christianity. His imagination and childish love of story 
telling often lead to an almost unconscious exaggeration 
and untruthfulness. The negro belongs to a nature people, 
unmoral rather than immoral. Not only is he affectionate, 
but his nature is singularly free from vindictiveness. 
The Civil War showed the loyalty of the negro to the 
household of his master who was fighting to perpetuate 
the very institution which kept him in bondage. The 
negro is ever cheerful and happy; his folk songs constitut- 
ing a real contribution to American music. 

Number of Negroes. — The census of 1920 showed over 
ten millions of negroes in the United States. Although 
The their number has doubled since the Civil War, 

increase. ^ e percentage of negroes in our total population 
has gradually diminished from about fifteen per cent at 
that time to about ten per cent at present. Although 
their birth rate is high, their death rate is correspondingly 
high. This is particularly true in the cities, where the negro 
death rate is often half as high again as the death rate of 
the whites. That the negro is not adapted to the environ- 
ment of the northern states is shown by the fact that his 
race would die in the North were it not recruited by fresh 
migrations from the South. There are two conclusions 
concerning the negro's rate of increase. In the first place, 
his numbers are not increasing so rapidly as is the white 
race. On the other hand, the negro is absolutely increas- 
ing in number, and there is no indication that the race will 



The American Race Problem 185 

die out or become numerically insignificant, like the 
Indian. The future of America still holds the solution of 
the negro race problem. 

Since the negro's original home is in the South, the race 
question has often been called the Southerner's problem. 
Nearly nine-tenths of all our negroes, live south The distri- 
of the Mason and Dixon Line. The "Black bution - 
Belt" is a broad agricultural plain extending from Virginia 
to Texas. Here live eight-tenths of all the negroes whose 
rate of increase in this section is very high. This belt 
practically coincides with the eleven states which seceded 
during the Civil War. In the two states of Mississippi 
and South Carolina there are actually more negroes than 
whites. Before the Civil War, the negroes lived almost 
entirely upon the plantations and picked the cotton crop. 
Since then many have gone to the northern states, but we 
have seen how natural selection has operated there to 
keep down their numbers. Again, there has also been a 
considerable movement into the cities. A similar sad fate 
has awaited them here, for the negro does not seem 
adapted to city life. In spite of this fact, in certain cities 
like Jacksonville, Charleston, and Savannah about one- 
half of the population is often composed of colored people. 

Problems of the Negro. — Slavery, threatening the 
existence of the Union, gave rise to the great Civil War 
which resulted in its abolition. The Emancipa- R eC on- 
tion Proclamation issued by President Lincoln structlon - 
was a war measure, the legality of which was later estab- 
lished by constitutional action. The Civil War thus 
resulted in the passage of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and 
fifteenth amendments. The first abolished slavery, the 
second granted the negro citizenship, and the third 



1 86 Problems of American Democracy 

enfranchised him. A Freedmen's Bureau, created to 
protect the black man in the enjoyment of his new rights, 
began the work of education. Suddenly, and with no 
preparation, between four and five million slaves became 
American citizens. The later enfranchisement, without 
training or preparation, led to sad results. The "carpet 
bagger" directed the ignorant colored vote for his own 
benefit, and an era of negro domination followed the war. 
Colored legislators sat in the proud halls of southern 
capitals, while illiterate ex-slaves wasted the public funds in 
a wave of corrupt and foolish extravagance. Federal troops 
organized military districts and made fearful the dark 
days of the Reconstruction period. Under President 
Hayes the troops were withdrawn, and the South recov- 
ered, but did not forget the era of negro rule. As the 
whites obtained gradual control the negro was driven from 
politics. 

The new constitutions of many southern states, adopted 

since the war, provided for the practical disfranchisement 

of the negro. Mississippi led this movement in 

political 1890, when the new constitution provided that 

problem. . 

every voter should be able to read or to interpret 
a clause of the constitution. The negro has found this 
task difficult before a Southern election board. Other 
states have added a " Grandfather's Clause," which exempts 
from the literacy test the descendants of those who voted 
prior to i860. The negro is legally kept from voting, not 
because of race, but by reason of illiteracy. Therefore, by 
the political problem of the negro, we mean that arising 
from the franchise and from the principle of equality before 
the law. In the South the negro has little share in making 
the laws and but slight participation in their administra- 



The American Race Problem 187 

tion. Mob spirit, both dangerous and contagious, some- 
times prevails and presents a serious problem in social 
control. It feeds upon ignorant race prejudice. Enfran- 
chisement, however, might increase rather than diminish 
race friction. Lynchings also occur in the border states 
of the North where the negro possesses the right to vote. 
A greater social control and a more intelligent citizenship 
are necessary to prevent such disorders. Another effect of 
negro suffrage is seen in increased political corruption, for 
the negro is often ignorant and illiterate. In some northern 
cities the negro vote is as easily controlled as the 
immigrant's. 

The amount of crime among the negroes is far in excess 
of that warranted by their proportion to the total popula- 
tion. This tendency seems to be increasing Crime 
rather than decreasing. It is greater in the and 

. pauperism. 

border states of the North than in the South, 
where tradition has fixed the negro's place in society. The 
maximum of crime among negroes is reached in the city, 
where the congested negro quarter furnishes the cause of 
numerous disturbances for the local police authorities. 
Furious religious revivals and festivals are regarded as 
dangerous to these temperamental people. Strong drink 
may make the docile and good-natured negro quarrelsome 
and criminal. Vice, as well as crime, exists among the 
negroes. The proportion of illegitimate births among the 
colored population is much greater than that among the 
whites. Indeed, in a few cases, a permanent family 
life hardly exists. Negro pauperism is also high, for, 
unfortunately, the negro group contributes an undue pro- 
portion of its members to the almshouses and to the various 
charitable institutions of our great cities. Students have 



1 88 Problems of American Democracy 

estimated that from a half to three-fourths of the negroes 
live below the poverty line. 

The industrial problem of the negro is often regarded as 
fundamental in the matter of race adjustment. Its essence 
industrial * s ^h e ma king of the negro an efficient and 
problems: dependable factor in economic production. 
Economic independence will help the race to 
solve the problems of crime and pauperism. The negro 
must learn habits of steady work, the lessons of thrift and 
industry, and accustom himself to a system of labor by 
free contract. Much has been accomplished since the 
break-up of the old system, when the freed slave was 
turned loose upon a new and strange economic environ- 
ment without either land or capital. However, much 
remains to be accomplished, for the industrial progress of 
the negro has been slow in comparison with that of many 
immigrant groups. The typical negro is a farmer and may 
be found in the cotton fields of the "Black Belt." Only in 
rare cases does he own the land, for a survival of the plan- 
tation system flourishes in the large estates of the white 
landlords. These are broken up into small tracts worked 
by the negroes. Since most of the negroes are poor, the 
landlord supplies not only the tract of land with its little 
cabin, but also the few tools and other instruments of 
production. There is often a plantation supply store at 
which the negro runs a charge account for the food and 
other supplies which he purchases. After the cotton crop 
is picked, it is sent to the neighboring gin and a settlement 
made. When the rent, the account at the plantation store, 
and other charges are deducted, the balance is turned over 
to the dusky farmer. This is small enough, for prices are 
high and the interest upon credit purchases heavy. A con- 



The American Race Problem 189 

tract has been signed, which holds the negro to his job and 
fugitives are severely treated by the law. The planter, 
however, often finds it a difficulty to secure negroes for 
steady work. 

The great cry of the developing South is for labor and 
more labor. Hence some of our immigration, like the 
Italian, is slowly going south and competing other 
with the negro upon the farm and cotton field. ■ actors - 
In spite of race friction, the Southerner seems to prefer the 
labor of the negro around whom his native traditions 
cluster. The negro is better off working steadily upon the 
farm than floating haphazardly in the current of unskilled 
labor. A migratory negro of the ignorant laboring class 
often gets into trouble and is regarded suspiciously in the 
South. Negro ownership of land is as desirable in the 
South as native peasant ownership in Ireland, where 
the agrarian problem is somewhat similar. Slowly pro- 
gress is being made, and many negroes own considerable 
property. The per capita wealth of the colored popu- 
lation has increased, but among the masses poverty is 
still the rule. 

Industrial education is the crying need of the negro, if 
he is to be trained to habits of steady industry and to rise 
above the group of unskilled labor. Great trade 
schools, like Tuskegee and Hampton, have done Education 

. ■ and leader- 

much to create intelligent workers and good ship. 

citizens. Booker T. Washington, the late prin- 
cipal of Tuskegee, who emphasized this side of negro 
education, was regarded generally as the great leader of 
his race. A different view, however, is held by Dr. Wm. 
E. B. DuBois, who pleads for the higher and more cultural 
education of the negro. Undoubtedly this kind of educa- 



190 Problems of American Democracy 

tion is necessary to provide colored teachers for the negro 
race. The negro must help solve his own problems and 
this is impossible without intelligent native leadership. 
From the negro universities of Atlanta, Fiske, and Howard 
have come scores of intelligent colored men and women 
equipped to serve as professional teachers in the colored 
schools of the South. In the distribution of public and 
private funds between the colored and the white schools, 
the basis of determination should be one of need and 
necessity. Many other men of letters and race leaders 
may be cited among the negroes. Paul Lawrence Dunbar 
acquired fame as a poet, while one of the pictures of Mr. 
H. O. Tanner hangs in the galleries of the Luxembourg. 

The present negro problem is the natural outgrowth of 
early economic and social conditions. Let us remember 
The that the negro is here not at his own request, 

solution. k ut as a resu i t Q f tne ac tion of our ancestors. 

"But what shall we do with the negro "? is the oft-repeated 
question. Liberia was founded as a colony in Africa for 
the freed slaves of America. The experiment, however, 
can not be called successful and the precedent is not 
likely to be followed. The transportation of ten millions 
of negroes, even if desired, is impracticable. In his present 
stage of economic development, it is difficult to see how the 
negro could properly support himself. He might even 
lapse into a state of barbarism. Some sensational writers 
have feared the assimilation of the freed negroes with our 
own Caucasian stock. This is alike undesirable and 
improbable. There is no one patented solution for any 
social or economic problem, nor may future conditions be 
prophesied. The present policy seems to be that of a 
separate, but friendly, coexistence of the two races. An 



The American Race Problem 191 

intelligent leadership and sound industrial education will 
develop the negro into a useful and law-abiding citizen. 
When he becomes an efficient producer, his own poverty 
and crime will diminish. Then the South will be more 
likely to grant him genuine political rights. In the mean- 
time, an intelligent understanding of the negro problem 
will tend to remove many of the difficulties involved in its 
solution. 

The Indian. — In addition to the negro and the Mon- 
golian, America has the Indian. His problem is interesting 
historically. In comparison with the number of Early 
negroes in this country, the present quarter of a treatment - 
million of Indians is insignificant. Like the negro, however, 
the Indian has been the victim of conditions over which he 
had no control. The European settlers drove him from his 
hunting grounds and appropriated for themselves his original 
home. In the wars of conquest, many regarded the dead 
Indian as the only good Indian. To be sure, William Penn 
and Roger Williams stand out as pleasing contrasts to this 
opinion. Before the advancing Caucasian tide the Indian, 
like the buffalo, has disappeared below the horizon. There 
are probably as many Indians to-day as when Columbus 
discovered America. The Indian population has decreased 
relatively, however, because his birth rate is much lower 
than that of the whites. Contact with European civiliza- 
tion seemed fatal to these nature people. They learned 
its vices rather than its virtues. Alcohol, it is said, has 
killed more Indians than the white man's bullets. An 
indoor life, with its resulting tuberculosis, seems also 
signally fatal to the Indian. 

The United States Government has set aside reservations 
for the Red Man and appropriates funds for supplies and 



192 Problems of American Democracy 

maintenance. While this may be a just policy, the lack 
of necessity on the part of the Indian for self-support is 
Present bound to encourage laziness and undermine inde- 
conditions. p en d en t manhood. Again, our dealings in the 
past with these people have not always been free from 
corruption and injustice. It is hoped that a better day is 
dawning. Government schools, like Carlisle, seek to teach 
the Indian habits of industry and to give him vocational 
training. As a result, many Indians have adopted our 
civilization and are being assimilated into the American 
population. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Discuss the origin of race and show the working of natural 
selection in race development. 

2. Show the effect of the tropical environment of Africa upon 
the racial heredity of the negro. 

3. Sketch the history and horrors of the slave trade. 

4. Give the good and the bad effects of slavery. 

5. Give some characteristics of the negro. 

6. Explain some of these in terms of his physical and social 
environment. 

7. How does the rate of increase of the negro compare with that 
of the whites? What of the future? 

8. Where is the negro not relatively increasing in numbers? 

9. Give figures to show that the negro is the race problem of the 
South. 

10. What states have a greater colored population than white? 
n. Where and what is the "Black Belt"? 

12. Sketch the political status of the negro. 

13. How is the fifteenth amendment circumvented? 

14. What is your opinion as to the political equality of the negro? 

15. Is the negro protected in his rights of citizenship? 

16. Discuss crime and pauperism among the negroes. 

17. What is the extent of poverty in this group? 

18. What is the essence of the negro industrial problem? 



The American Race Problem 193 

19. Discuss the system under which the Black Belt is farmed. 

20. Compare the two types of negro education. 

21. Name some leaders of the race. 

22. What is your idea regarding the outlook of the negro problem? 

23. How has the Indian been treated by the early settlers? By our 
national government? 

24. How has contact with civilization affected the Indians? 

25. Is the Indian dying out? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Slave life in the early South. 

2. The life of Booker T. Washington. 

3. Tuskegee Institute. 

4. Colored institutions for scholastic training. 

5. The negro and city life. 

6. The Black Belt. 

7. The Freedmen's Bureau. 

8. The mulatto — his good and bad side. 

9. The negro and the franchise. 

10. The Ku Klux Clan. 

11. The present condition of the negro. 

REFERENCES 

Baker, R. S. Following the Color Line. 

Du Bois, W. E. B. Souls of Black Folk. 

McKenzie, F. A. The Indian. 

Merriam, G. S. The Negro and the Nation. 

Miller, K. Race Adjustment. 

Negro Education. Bulletin 1916, Nos. 38 and 39, Bureau of 

Education. 
Stone, A. H. Studies in the American Race Problem. 
Tillinghast, J. A. Negro in Africa and America. 
United States Census Reports. 
Washington, B. T. Future of the American Negro. 
Washington, B. T. The Negro Problem. 
Washington, B. T. Story of the Negro. 
Washington, B. T. Up From Slavery. 
Washington, B. T. Working with the Hands. 

N 



CHAPTER XVI 

Possibilities of Our Economic Environment 

I. The physiography of the United States 
i. The Atlantic Slope 

2. The Mississippi Valley 

3. The Rocky Mountain Plateau 

4. The Pacific Coast 

5. Our new possessions 

6. America's possibilities 
II. Agricultural resources 

1. Their development 

2. Chief crops 

3. Timber resources 

III. Mineral wealth 

1 . Its development 

2. Iron and copper 

3. The precious metals 

4. Fuels: 

a. Coal 

b. Petroleum 

IV. Water resources 

1. The Mississippi System 

2. Other waterways 

3. Water power: 

a. Its importance 

b. Examples 

c. Conclusion 

Heredity and environment are the two pillars upon which 
the social structure is built. We have sketched the physi- 
cal and social heredity of the American nation, and 

194 



Possibilities of Our Economic Environment 195 

attempted an analysis of the elements in our complex 
population. Natural environment, however, becomes the 
important factor, as we pass from a survey of the political 
and the social to the economic evolution of America. It 
is therefore necessary to consider the natural resources of 
the United States. 

The Physiography of the United States. — Continen- 
tal United States contains about three million square miles 
and nearly equals in area the continent of Europe. Geo- 
graphically, it falls into four great divisions: the Atlantic 
Seaboard, the Mississippi Valley, the Rocky Mountain 
Plateau, and the Pacific Coast. 

The area between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appa- 
lachian Mountains was the first to be settled. Westward 
the course of industry, as well as of empire, took Thg 
its way. The Atlantic Slope continues to be the Atlantic 

. ... slope. 

most densely populated section, for it is still the 
commercial and industrial center of the nation. This sec- 
tion is favored by excellent natural harbors and abundant 
navigable rivers. There are numerous good sites for water 
power. The land is fertile and the rainfall sufficient. 
Behind it the Appalachian Mountains, rich in coal and iron 
ores, furnish the basis for industrial development. 

The Mississippi Valley is the great agricultural section 
of the country. Here the soil is exceptionally fertile and 
the rainfall abundant. The great plains can be Mississippi 
divided into agricultural belts by the parallels Valley - 
of latitude. The wheat belt is in the North, the cotton 
belt in the South, and the corn belt occupies the central 
region. The Mississippi river system and the Great Lakes 
afford a cheap means of water transportation for the bulky 
agricultural products. 



196 Problems of American Democracy 

The Rocky Mountain Plateau is characterized by in- 
sufficient rainfall. This arid triangular region is nearly 
_-■-,, a thousand miles wide in the North, but in the 

The Rocky _ ' 

Mountain South it narrows down to a width of but five 

Plateau. 

hundred miles. This great plateau, crossed by 
lofty mountains and deep ravines, extends from the foot 
hills of the Rocky Mountains, which form the western 
border of the Mississippi Valley, to the Sierra Nevada range 
in California. It comprises a third of the entire area of our 
nation. A large portion has a naturally fertile soil, 
although the rainfall is lacking. Here we find some of the 
greatest irrigation projects in America. At present the 
grazing industry predominates, and this section produces 
vast supplies of cattle and sheep. 

The climate of the Pacific Coast varies greatly in the 
North and South. The southern section has a semi- 
The Pacific tropical climate and is well suited for the pro- 
duction of fruits. The localization of the motion 
picture industry in this region is proof of its pleasant, 
sunny climate. In the North, the temperature is cooler 
and the rainfall more plentiful. The Northwest is rich 
in timber resources. Here are located the best port facil- 
ities of the West, but the Pacific Coast does not have such 
good natural harbors as the Atlantic seaboard. 

The territorial possessions of the United States are geo- 
graphical extremes. Alaska is sought for its furs and 
Our new fisheries, but it is also rich in mineral resources, 
possessions. The island dependencies of the United States 
possess great strategic as well as commercial value. The 
principal article of export from Hawaii is sugar. Porto 
Rico also produces tobacco and coffee. The chief products 
of the Philippines are hemp, sugar, copra, and tobacco. 



Possibilities of Our Economic Environment 197 

Nature has been very bountiful in her gifts to the United 
States. Not only is the land rich in mineral wealth, but 
the soil is very fertile. The great variation in America , s 
temperature from the North to the South is possibm- 
increased by the differences in altitude. This 
variety in climate produces a similar variety of products. 
Although located entirely within the temperate zone, the 
United States is almost economically self-sufficient. Good 
natural harbors and numerous great rivers leading in to 
the heart of the continent facilitate the problem of trans- 
portation. This vast, virgin territory opened up to the 
early settlers economic opportunities that kept pace with 
the political development of the nation. 

Agricultural Resources. — America contributed to the 
world several new agricultural products, including tobacco, 
the potato, and Indian corn or maize. Tobacco . 
and indigo played an interesting part in the deveiop- 
development of the southern colonies. After the 
invention of the cotton gin, cotton became the great 
southern crop, which influenced our national history before 
the Civil War. Further North the English settlers strove 
to raise wheat, but were more successful with the native 
Indian corn. A corresponding change took place in their 
diet. The one crop system, which was followed, tended 
to exhaust the soil. This fact drove many into the rich 
free lands of the West. At that time labor, not land, was 
the scarce factor in production, as is generally true in new 
countries. A stimulus was therefore given to the invention 
of agricultural machinery, and Yankee ingenuity became 
justly famous. Productivity per' acre may be low in 
America, but productivity per man is relatively high. 
The growth of cities has developed dairying and trucking, 



198 Problems of American Democracy 

which are largely localized around the great population 
centers of the Middle Atlantic States. 

Agriculture is still our chief industry. Corn, wheat, and 
cotton are the three staples. Corn takes first place, for 
Chief its annual value is equal to that of the other 

crops ' two crops combined. It is largely used for 

fattening swine and is shipped to Europe indirectly in the 
form of pork. The corn belt comprises Iowa, Nebraska, 
Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio. Hay is 
generally the second crop in value, but like potatoes and 
oats, its production is not localized in any one section. 
Wheat flourishes in the Northwest, particularly in the 
Dakotas and Minnesota. Kansas, Washington, Illinois, 
Nebraska, Ohio, Missouri, and Indiana complete the wheat 
belt. Both wheat and cotton are important articles of 
export. The cotton belt comprises South Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas. 
Here the price of cotton is the barometer of prosperity. 

The Atlantic Slope was originally well wooded and 
stocked with game of all kinds. The early settlers waged 
Timber war not only against the Indians, but also with 
the wild beasts and with the forests. A clearing 
was made by chopping down the trees and then burning 
off the stumps so that crops might be planted. At present 
there are five great timber sections in the United States: 
the Northeast, the South, the Great Lakes, the Rocky 
Mountains, and the Pacific Coast. In Maine and the 
contiguous district "'still stands the forest primeval, the 
murmuring pine and the hemlock." Among the important 
trees which flourish here, the white pine is most valuable, 
but is becoming scarce and expensive. The wood pulp 
industry has denuded great sections of spruce forests. 



Possibilities of Our Economic Environment 1 99 

The timber lands around the Great Lakes contain some 
harder woods, but are mainly coniferous in character. 
The chief trees of the great forests in the Rocky Mountains 
are the western yellow pine, the spruce, and the red fir. 
The southern states are important chiefly because of the 
southern or yellow pine. The swamp forests along the 




A Washington Forest of Douglas Fir 



coast have cypress and hard woods. The Pacific Coast 
section is the most heavily timbered of all. The important 
varieties are the fir, hemlock, pine, cedar, spruce, and 
redwood. 

Mineral Wealth. — As early as colonial days the iron 
industry began in America. Charcoal smelting, then the 
method used, was made possible because of an abundance of 



200 ' Problems of American Democracy 

cheap timber. The process, however, could be more effec- 
tively carried on by the utilization of coal deposits. Before 
its develop- the Civil War great new supplies of iron ore 
were discovered around Lake Superior. The 
introduction of the Bessemer process and the blast furnace 
made the United States an international factor in the 
production of steel. Industrial adjustment is illustrated 
by the movement of the steel industry from eastern to 
western Pennsylvania, where it is located between the 
coal beds of Pennsylvania and the new sources of iron ore 
on the shores of the Great Lakes. 

Before the close of the last century the United States 
had surpassed Great Britain as a producer of pig iron as 
well as of iron ore. The chief sources of iron ore are the 
deposits around Lake Superior in the states of Michigan, 
iron and Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Other new sources 
copper. have been found in Alabama, Virginia, and 

New York. Copper is the mineral next in importance to 
iron, and is similarly found in the vicinity of Lake Supe- 
rior. Copper is not only produced in Michigan, but also 
in Montana, Arizona, and Colorado. The United States 
produces as much copper as all the rest of the world 
combined. 

The lure of the precious metals was an important factor 

in the exploration and colonization of both North and 

South America. The production of gold in the 

precious United States was insignificant until its dis- 

metals. . . 

co very in California in 1849. Its production 
later fell off until new sources were discovered in Colorado. 
The production of silver was not significant until after the 
Civil War. In the 'eighties and 'nineties it was so important 
that a political issue was made for the increased coinage of 



Possibilities of Our Economic Environment 201 

silver. Important silver mines are located in Nevada, 
Montana, Utah, and Colorado. 

Although the precious metals are found in the West, 
the important coal deposits are located in the East. 
Almost our entire supply of anthracite comes Fuels: 
from Pennsylvania. Although the same state CoaL 
leads in the production of bituminous coal, other great 
bituminous areas are found in West Virginia, Illinois, and 
Ohio. The United States is the leading coal-producing 
nation of the world. Natural gas is another important 
fuel in the section around western Pennsylvania. Although 
the supply is precarious, a temporary abundance of this 
fuel has caused it to be wasted. Its industrial use is only 
local. 

Petroleum was first discovered in western Pennsylvania. 
At first the supply seemed localized in Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, and West Virginia. Later oil was dis- 

. Petroleum. 

covered in Texas, and recent successful borings 
have been made in Oklahoma. The number of products 
derived from crude petroleum makes it of great commercial 
value, and a world wide search has been undertaken for 
new sources. There are important oil-producing areas 
abroad in Russia and western Asia, where this economic 
factor has become an important element in international 
politics. 

Water Resources. — The United States possesses an 
excellent system of inland waterways. On the North, lie 
the Great Lakes which provide eighteen hundred . 
miles of navigable water. The Mississippi Mississippi 

b ^*\ System. 

River, running through the heart of the conti- 
nent and touching twenty-two states, is navigable for 
more than a thousand miles. Although the area served 



202 



Problems of American Democracy 





Oil Wells in Texas 



by this river and its tributaries furnishes the bulk of our 
agricultural exports and a large proportion of our manu- 
factured products, the river is but little used for transpor- 
tation. The Mississippi River serves as an excellent 
illustration of the possibilities and problems of internal 
waterways. To realize its full possibilities a number of 
improvements must be made. One of the worst features 
of this stream is its meandering tendency. Mark Twain 
has humorously described these windings of the lower 
Mississippi from his old "side-wheeler." This drawback 
has another unfortunate effect besides increasing the dis- 
tance in traveling. A slight curve tends to become 
intensified by the force of the current which cuts away the 
outside bank. The channel is therefore constantly under- 
cutting the bank upon which the docks are located. This 
can only be prevented by straightening the stream. 
Another problem is that of seasonal floods, which are in 
part caused by the deforestation of the territory around 
the head waters of the Mississippi. The levees along the 



Possibilities of Our Economic Environment 203 




Oil Wells in Texas 



southern banks would be made less necessary by the 
building of storage dams along the northern part of the 
stream. 

The Mississippi River is partly paralleled by a series of 
inland waterways in the East. At present this system is 
useful for small craft only, but it may develop other 
future possibilities. The heads of the Delaware waterwa y s - 
and Chesapeake Bays, for example, are united by the 
Delaware and Chesapeake Canal. The Delaware and 
Raritan Canal in turn connects the upper part of the 
Delaware River with a tributary into New York harbor. 
From here it is possible to go to New England by way of 
Long Island Sound, or up the Hudson River to Lake 
George and Lake Champlain. Proper dredging and deep- 
ening of the waterways would make it possible to go by 
water from New England to the South without going out- 
side into the Atlantic Ocean. The Erie Canal across New 
York State, which connects Lake Erie with the Hudson 
River, was a great achievement for its day and laid the 



204 Problems of American Democracy 

foundation for the later commercial greatness of New York 
City. There is no complete transcontinental waterway 
from East to West. The Panama Canal, however, serves 
as a medium of water transportation between the East and 
the West. A system of inland waterways composed of 
rivers, lakes, and connecting canals is still necessary in 
spite of the recent development of railroads. Such a sys- 
tem can carry at a lower cost the cheap, bulky, and non- 
perishable articles of freight. The relative cost of snip- 
ing by rail and by water may be seen by a comparison of 
the rates charged for shipping iron ore in the Great Lakes 
region. The ore is carried for about a thousand miles by 
boat from Duluth to a spot on Lake Erie. Here it is car- 
ried by rail to Pittsburgh, a distance of but a hundred and 
thirty-five miles. The latter part of the transportation, 
however, costs about as much as the former. 

Water-power was a natural resource which the colonists 
found in great abundance. Especially in New England 
Water were there numerous swiftly-flowing streams, 

power: along which our early manufacturing developed. 

To-day there are scattered about the country 
ruins of old colonial mills, which possessed a revolving 
water wheel and a mill race. The invention of the steam 
engine and the utilization of coal completely changed the 
character of American industry during the last century. 
The future scarcity of coal promises a return, however, to 
water-power. Hydro-electric stations may supplant the 
steam-driven generators. Instead of the old water wheel, 
electric turbines are installed in the stream. Whereas 
formerly the water-power was used locally, it can 
now be transmitted for hundreds of miles in the form of 
electricity. 



Possibilities of Our Economic Environment 205 

The best illustration of the utilization of water as a 
source of power is seen at Niagara Falls. The power gen- 
erated by the two stations located here is used, not only 
in the neighboring industrial plants, but also in 
the city of Buffalo. Here it lights the streets, 
runs the trolleys, and supplies power for various indus- 
trial purposes. The Pacific Coast also offers numerous 
excellent water-power sites. In fact, some economic 
writers predict the western movement of industry when 
the ultimate change from steam to hydro-electric power 
has been effected. However, the Atlantic Coast itself 
possesses numerous good sites for the utilization of its 
abundant water-power. Regulating the flow of the Mis- 
sissippi River by the construction of dams and reservoirs 
will not only prevent floods and facilitate transportation, 
but it will also provide a source of water-power. 

Hydro-electric sites cannot be destroyed in the same way 
that our forests have been, but they can be monopolized by 
individuals and corporations. The new public „ , . 

Conclusion. 

conscience must therefore see that these impor- 
tant natural resources are safeguarded for future genera- 
tions. In order to protect the nation from such private 
monopoly, Congress enacted in 1920 a water-power bill 
which permits the leasing of water-power sites by the 
national government. When the lease expires, the govern- 
ment can take over at an appraised valuation such hydro- 
electric plants as have been constructed. A commission, 
consisting of the secretaries of war, agriculture, and the 
interior, also has the power to grant a lease to a private 
company. The important point is that the property rights 
remain with the government, which can specify the royalty 
to be charged for the use of the water-power site. 



206 Problems of A merican Democracy 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

i . Name and give the important characteristics of the four great 
geographical divisions of the United States. 

2. Compare the physiography of the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. 

3. What are some of the future economic possibilities of the 
Rocky Mountain Plateau? 

4. Explain the economic importance of each of our territorial 
possessions. 

5. What are the three great staples in American agriculture? 
Where is each produced? 

6. What are the chief timber areas in the United States and the 
chief woods produced in each? 

7. What minerals are most vital to industry? Tell why in each 
case. 

8. Show how the United States is favored in each of the above 
minerals. 

9. How have gold and silver affected our national development? 

10. Why is petroleum such an important product to-day? 

1 1 . Trace some of the important water routes of the United States. 

12. Show some of the problems of the Mississippi River and what 
has been done to overcome them. 

13. Discuss the relative cost of rail and water transportation. 

14. Show how the power of Niagara Falls has been used industrially. 

15. Compare the East and the West with respect to water-power 
sites. 

16. Compare the methods of obtaining power used in the old 
water mills with those employed in modern hydro-electric plants. 

17. What has Congress done to protect our water-power sites? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The precious metals and the exploration of the United States. 

2. King Cotton in American history. 

3. The natural resources of China and the United States. 

4. The inland waterways of the East. 

5. The effects of the Panama Canal upon American commerce. 

6. The age of steel. 

7. The future supply of coal. 



Possibilities of Our Economic Environment 207 

8. The history of the Standard Oil Company. 

9. New sources of petroleum and world politics. 

10. The new importance of water. 

11. American agriculture and the World War. 

12. The free passage of coast-wise ships through the Panama 
Canal. 

REFERENCES 

Bulletins. United States Department of Agriculture. 

Harwood, W. S. The New Earth. 

Johnson, E. R„ Ocean and Inland Water Transportation. 

Kelsey, C. The Physical Basis of Society. 

Quick, H. The Good Ship Earth. 

Shaler, N. S. Man and Nature in America. 

Smith, J. R. Commerce and Industry. 

United States Census Reports. Water Power. 

Warren, G. F. Elements of Agriculture. 



CHAPTER XVII 

Conservation of Our Natural Resources 

I. The development of economic ideals 
i. Prosperity 
2. Conservation and efficiency: 

a. Meaning 

b. The former waste 

c. The new movement 
II. Conservation of forests 

i. Its importance 

2. Destruction of forests 

3. The effects 

4. The remedies 

III. Conservation of minerals 

1. Coal and iron 

2. Petroleum 

IV. Reclamation of land 

1. Principle of diminishing returns 

2. Opposing forces 

3. The progress made 

4. Restoration of soil fertility 

5. Irrigation 

6. Drainage 

The Development of Economic Ideals. — Prosperity 
to an individual means an abundance of personal wealth. 
Pros- Prosperity to a nation, in a similar sense, means 

perity. an abundance of national wealth. Although 

national prosperity depends upon the wealth of natural re- 
sources, physical environment is not the only factor in its 

208 



Conservation of Our Natural Resources 209 

determination. Man's part in the production of wealth 
must be considered as well as the part played by nature. 
China and the United States are about the same size and 
are equally endowed with rich gifts of nature. The more 
progressive western nation, however, has made a much 
better adjustment to its economic environment. It has 
created more wealth and secured a greater economic sur- 
plus. By surplus wealth we mean the wealth created by 
society which is more than is needed for immediate con- 
sumption. Consequently, prosperity is the rule in Amer- 
ica, and poverty in China. Later we shall consider how this 
surplus is divided. Although there may be great national 
prosperity, many individuals may not share in this pros- 
perity if the wealth of the country is very unequally 
divided. Individuals may be happy in spite of poverty, 
like St. Francis of Assisi. Ordinarily, however, a certain 
amount of material wealth is necessary to well-being. 
Wealth and welfare are not identical, but the latter does 
depend in every-day life upon the former. National pros- 
perity, like individual prosperity, is not an end in itself, 
but merely a means to welfare. 

A second economic ideal is that of conservation. If 
prosperity means an abundance of wealth, conservation 
means its wise use. What thrift is to an indi- c onserva _ 
vidual, conservation is to a nation. Another * ion: 
economic ideal is that of efficiency, which may 
be measured by maximum results. Efficiency and con- 
servation are supplementary, for the one means maximum 
production and the other minimum waste. Our ideal of 
conservation implies not only consideration for one's fellow 
citizens, but also for posterity. A ruthless individualism 
of one generation may impair the prosperity, and hence 
o 



210 Problems of American Democracy 

welfare, of the following generation. Our consideration 
of social heredity has shown us how the torch of civiliza- 
tion has been passed down from age to age. It is also 
important that each generation does not waste the riches 
of its economic environment. A progressive society should 
strive for constant improvement upon its physical and 
social environment, so that the world of to-morrow will be 
a better place in which to. live than the world of to-day. 
This is the romance of history. 

The great natural resources of America at first seemed 
inexhaustible. To the early settlers, the New World was 
The former an El Dorado. This golden dream seemed ful- 
filled in the mineral and agricultural wealth of 
the new lands. Trappers slew vast numbers of wild 
animals for their skins only and discarded their valuable 
remains. It is said that the Indians frequently used only 
the tongue of the buffalo. Although a century ago the 
western plains resounded to the thunder of great herds of 
bison, that animal is now practically extinct. America 
was similarly rich in wild geese and other fowl, which have 
since been largely exterminated. A similar slaughter of 
the trees took place. The growing population was also 
indifferent to the careless methods of farming which 
exhausted the soil. More land could be had almost for the 
asking. 

Finally the West was settled and there was little remain- 
ing free land. Rising prices indicated that there might 
The new later be a pressure of population upon food sup- 
movement. ^y % Certain commodities were becoming scarce 
and expensive. Others were being imported from foreign 
countries. Gradually there dawned upon the mind of the 
American people a new national ideal, — that of conserva- 



Conservation of Our Natural Resources 211 

tion. President Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot were the 
leaders of this movement. They sounded a call to arms 
against the wanton waste of our natural resources and 
their exploitation for private gain. A campaign of popular 
education was begun concerning the future production of 
such essentials as coal and timber. It was pointed out 
that new giants of production known as trusts were lurk- 
ing in the background, awaiting an opportunity to exploit 
the water-power sites of the nation. 

Conservation of Forests. — The conservation move- 
ment began with the attempts to save the forests from 
destruction. These are important natural i ts impor- 
resources not only because of their timber, but tance 
also because of the part they play in the conservation of 
soil moisture. Again, by maintaining the soil moisture, 
they insure a constant and regular source of water for the 
small streams which feed the larger rivers. Thus, forests 
affect the problems of wood supply, soil moisture, water- 
power and transportation. 

The ruthless cutting of our forests continued long after 
the pioneer days of American history had passed. In the 
last two decades of the nineteenth century, the Destruction 
increase in timber cut was almost twice as ° ores s " 
great as the increase in population. Our present rate of 
consumption of timber is almost three times as great as 
its estimated growth. There is a qualitative as well as a 
quantitative aspect to the problem of timber cutting. 
Instead of selecting only the mature trees, almost all the 
standing timber was frequently cut. This method of 
forest destruction is most reprehensible. Another cause of 
destruction is found in the frequent forest fires. The 
annual loss from this source alone has been estimated at 



212 



Problems of American Democracy 



fifty million dollars. Sparks from locomotives, or embers 
from camp fires, may start a conflagration. If a wind fans 
the smouldering underbrush, the entire forest may catch 
fire. Forest rangers can prevent the destruction from 
spreading, if the fire is detected early enough. Such 





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Photo by U. S. Forest Service 
Forest Fire Destruction in Minnesota 

methods as forming an open or cleared circle around the 
fire easily prevent it from spreading. Adequate fire- 
fighting apparatus may also be the means of saving both 
property and human lives. 

The most apparent result of the destruction of forests is 
found in its effect upon the future supply of lumber. It has 
been estimated that at the present alarming rate of consump- 
tion our timber will last but a single generation. The 



Conservation of Our Natural Resources 213 

effects of deforestation upon the soil are even more impor- 
tant. Forest fires feed upon the dry leaves and branches 
left in the wake of deforestation. This deprives The 
the soil of the rich layer of vegetable matter called e ects " 
humus and bakes hard the surface of the earth. Instead 
of soaking into the ground, the rain runs off rapidly, caus- 
ing floods in the streams and rivers. This has the further 
evil effect of washing off the soil from the slopes of the hills 
and mountains. In some sections these washouts have 
become a serious problem. The roots of the trees and other 
vegetable matter in the soil act as a kind of sponge to hold 
the water after a rain and to prevent it from running off 
too rapidly. Where forest areas have been denuded, the 
soil has been deprived of its natural reservoirs. A scarcity 
of rainfall very quickly takes the form of drought in these 
affected regions. In the late summer, springs and streams 
dry up and both crops and cattle are threatened. Besides 
causing floods, droughts, and washouts, the effects of 
deforestation upon water-power sites are important. 
Hydro-electric stations require a certain volume and cur- 
rent of water. Irregularities of flow cause serious loss and 
sometimes necessitate the temporary closing of the plant. 
The very nature of the problem suggests many remedial 
measures. If conservation means wise use, it is surely 
folly to cut down young trees. The maximum The 
of timber production should be secured by cut- reme ies ' 
ting down mature trees only. Forests should be constantly 
picked over and not systematically destroyed. Again, 
reforestation is vital. In Germany, it is required that the 
cutting of trees be accompanied by replanting. Arbor 
day in the United States may have had as yet little material 
result, but it has served to educate our young people to 



214 Problems of American Democracy 

plant trees. Another method of attacking the problem is 
to set aside certain forest reservations. The national gov- 
ernment, as well as a number of individual states, has 
already taken such action. Forest rangers are employed 
to keep constantly upon the lookout against signs of fires. 
On the whole it would seem that state action is inadequate 
and that a comprehensive national policy is imperative. 

Conservation of Minerals. — Forests may be replanted 
and the lost fertility of the soil restored by some artificial 
Coal and means. But minerals taken from the earth can 
never be restored. Coal and iron have had so 
important a place in shaping our recent civilization that 
the past century has been called the age of steel. It is 
often asserted that, at the present rate of consumption, 
the available supply of anthracite will be exhausted in the 
course of the century, and the bituminous coal in a hun- 
dred and twenty-five years. Recent reports from the 
United States Bureau of Mines, however, are more opti- 
mistic about the supply of coal. It is possible to use 
inferior grades which are not now mined. The policy of 
merely "skimming the cream" from a coal mine is to be 
condemned. The deeper and poorer veins have not always 
been worked and frequently the mine has been abandoned 
too soon. Such a policy has sometimes made the mine 
unworkable, although the scarcity of coal would have made 
such an operation profitable. Provision should also be 
made to prevent the collapse of the shafting and the flood- 
ing of the mine by water. River bottoms are now being 
dredged for the layer of coal which has been precipitated 
there in the process of transportation. 

Conflicting reports are given out concerning the supply 
of petroleum, and its exhaustion in the near future. New 



Conservation of Our Natural Resources 215 

1 
sources are constantly being discovered. Although con- 
servation is to be stressed, it must be remembered that 
we are living in a progressive society. Other 
sources of energy, such as hydro-electricity, hold 
great promise for the future. The utilization of the tides 
may not be impossible for some later generation. There 
is also the age-long dream of deriving energy from the sun 
by some focussing process which will concentrate its rays 
for the production of heat. 

Reclamation of Land. — The principle of diminishing 
returns lies at the basis of the Malthusian law of popula- 
tion. The pressure of population upon food . 
supply has been explained as the tendency of diminishing 
population to increase faster than the available 
supply of food. We are now ready to see whether there 
is really a law which determines the yield from land, that 
is, from natural resources. Although the law of diminish- 
ing returns was discovered in agriculture, it has been 
applied elsewhere as, for illustration, to the working of a 
mine. This principle states that, after a certain point has 
been reached in the cultivation of a piece of land, it will 
yield a smaller and smaller increased product in propor- 
tion to the increase in capital and labor expended. As 
population increases land is worked more intensively, that 
is, a greater amount of capital and labor is expended upon 
the same land. In Europe the land is cultivated more 
intensively than in America, where a relatively greater 
amount of land makes a more extensive cultivation profit- 
able. With the growth of population in America, however, 
the land has been worked more intensively than formerly. 
When the increased yield from the land is no longer pro- 
portionate to the increased expenditure of capital and 



216 Problems of American Democracy 

labor, the point of diminishing returns has been reached. 
Suppose that a farmer, for example, applies three times as 
much labor and capital on a given field as last year, but 
receives only twice the crop yield. Although there is an 
increase in yield, it is not proportionate. Therefore, we 
say the land has reached the point of diminishing returns 
It has been said that nature's part in production obeys 
the law of diminishing returns, but that man's part is 
Opposing capable of increasing returns. In other words 
orces - a progressive society is constantly making better 

adjustments. New inventions and discoveries may more 
than counterbalance the decreasing tendency in produc- 
tion from land. American ingenuity has been constantly 
offsetting this tendency, whereas in China there has been no 
such strong progressive force. Here many die of starva- 
tion because ancestral methods of farming and transporta- 
tion are still in vogue. America, on the other hand, gave 
to the world the invention of the combined harvester and 
reaper. Greater returns as well as decreased effort are 
secured by such devices as the steam plow and the gasoline 
tractor. Seed is sown by a drill, which not only covers the 
seed but spreads the fertilizer. It must be remembered, 
however, that our own European ancestors were at first 
skeptical of the steel plow. It was supposed to poison 
the land instead of opposing its tendency toward diminish- 
ing returns. 

To-day the farmer has ceased to be an untrained worker. 
Agricultural science has been developed in school and 
The college. The national and state governments 

progress have established laboratories and maintained 

made. 

bureaus of information, which have stimulated 
agricultural progress. Plant diseases such as blight and 



Conservation of Our Natural Resources 217 

scale have been scientifically investigated for the benefit 
of the farmer. New and better varieties of plant and 
animal life have also been developed by a careful process 
of breeding and seed selection. Natural selection is an 
unconscious process which has evolved the strongest and 
best adapted species for survival in the struggle for exist- 
ence. Man, however, has domesticated certain plants and 
animals, that is, he has largely removed them from this 
struggle for existence. He has then practiced artificial 
selection among them. For illustration, he has selected 
for breeding purposes those cows which give the best milk. 
Through artificial selection he has also produced the fat 
domestic pig from the scrawny "razor back," which had 
a much better chance of survival under natural conditions. 
By a similar process in the plant world the tomato has been 
developed from a weed. Burbank, the "plant wizard," 
has thus produced new and better varieties of fruits and 
vegetables. 

In a progressive society man is constantly fighting the 
tendency of land to yield diminishing returns. A specific 
illustration is his attempt to restore fertility _, 

r J Restoration 

to soil exhausted by the one-crop system. The of soil 

.... . fertility. 

one-crop system lessens soil fertility because it 
continually drains the same necessary elements from the 
soil. Again, it is favorable to the development of enemy 
insects and bacteria. It can be avoided, however, by the 
rotation of crops. The planting of cover crops is another 
cheap and effective method of restoring soil fertility. The 
cover crop is planted in the fall after harvest. Later it is 
plowed under and serves as a fertilizer. The legumes, 
like peas, beans, alfalfa, and clover have additional value, 
for their roots possess nodules containing ammonia. These 



2l8 



Problems of American Democracy 



are the product of bacteria which have the power of 
extracting nitrogen from the air. Other necessary chem- 
ical elements in the soil are potassium and phosphorus. 
Chemical fertilizers, such as bone products, are rich in 
these elements. Ordinary stable manure is another effec- 
tive fertilizer. Unfortunately, it is frequently stored in 
barns without cement floors and consequently loses its 
valuable ammonia. Humus, which is largely made up 
of decayed vegetable matter, is a very effective aid to soil 
conservation. 

Water is another vital element in increasing production. 
Irrigation is the process by which this substance is sup- 
plied to arid lands. Before the white man came 
to the great arid Southwest the Pueblo Indians 
practiced irrigation. The ancient Egyptians and Chal- 
deans, like the Incas of Peru, also understood this principle. 
The first great work of irrigation in the United States was 



Irrigation. 




Courtesy of U. S. Reclamation Service 
The Desert before Irrigation 



Conservation of Our Natural Resources 219 




Ewing Galloway 



Irrigated Farm Land in Arizona 



undertaken by the Mormons of Utah, who "made the 
desert to blossom as the rose." The Horace Greeley Irri- 
gation Colony was begun in 1870 and named after the 
editor-statesman whose advice has been summed up in the 
words, "Young man, go West." Since that time, when 
there were but twenty thousand acres of irrigated lands, the 



220 Problems of American Democracy 

work has gone on so rapidly that to-day there are about ten 
million acres of such land. In 1902 the National Reclama- 
tion Act was passed, which provides for the construction of 
irrigation works under the direction of the Secretary of 
the Interior. The earlier Homestead Act, under which 
the new lands of the West were first opened for settlement, 
had not prevented a few individuals from getting control 
of large* areas. To prevent such concentration the Act 
of 1902 limits the holdings of any one person to one hun- 
dred and sixty acres. The expense of constructing irri- 
gation dams and canals is met by the sale of public land. 
The settlers, who take up the irrigated lands, are required 
to pay back to the government in ten installments their 
share of the cost of irrigation. The government has 
merely advanced the money and done the work of con- 
struction. After the works have been paid for, they are 
turned over to the local government for future administra- 
tion. 

Drainage is the process by which water is subtracted 

instead of added to the soil. The Reclamation Act of 1902 

provides for this phase of the work also. Indi- 

Drainage. . 

vidual states had drained a total of eight million 
acres of land, but the national government had done little 
prior to this time. There are .sixty million acres of swamp 
land in the United States. This is frequently a very rich 
soil, formed by decayed vegetable matter and silt carried 
down by rivers. The Florida Everglades and the Great 
Dismal Swamp of Virginia are good illustrations of such 
lands. The soil is of the richest and covered only in patches 
by water which is seldom deep. The drainage of most 
of this territory would not be nearly so difficult an engi- 
neering feat as the construction of the Panama Canal. 



Conservation of Our Natural Resources 221 



QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Name and explain the implications of several economic ideals. 

2. Explain the relationship between wealth and welfare. 

3. Upon what factors does national prosperity depend? 

4. Show the relationship between the ideals of efficiency' and 
conservation; between conservation and social welfare. 

5. Illustrate the former waste of our natural resources. 

6. What were some causes of the movement for conservation? 

7. Who were some of its leaders and what did they do? 

8. Explain the causes -and effects of deforestation. 

9. What remedial steps have been taken? 

10. What measures can you suggest for the conservation of our 
minerals? 

11. Explain and illustrate the principle of diminishing returns. 

12. Explain and illustrate the opposing forces. 

13. What have been some important factors in recent agricultural 
progress? 

14. Compare natural selection with artificial selection and show 
how man has utilized the latter. 

15. What are the essential elements in the soil? How can each of 
these be restored? 

16. Discuss the Reclamation Act of 1902. 

17. Prove the value of irrigation. 

18. Explain some irrigation work with which you are familiar. 

19. What has been done in the way of draining swamp land? 



TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1 . Rise of the conservation movement in the United States. 

2. Forests as a national asset. 

3. Forest reservations and their care. 

4. New sources of physical energy. 

5. New species of plants and animals. 

6. Early irrigation projects. 

7. The drainage of the Everglades. 



222 Problems of American Democracy 

REFERENCES 

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 

Conservation of natural resources. 
Harwood, W. S. The New Earth. 
Kelsey, C. The Physical Basis of Society. 
Proceedings of the Conference of Governors in 1908. 
Quick, H. The Good Ship Earth. 
Reports of National Conservation Commission. 
United States Census Reports on Irrigation. 
Van Hise, C. R. Conservation of Natural Resources in the United 

States. 
Warren, G. F. Elements of Agriculture. ' 



CHAPTER XVIII 

The Industrial Revolution 

I. Industrial society 

i . Factors in production 

2. Characteristics of industry: 

a. Interdependence 

b. Inventions 

c. Social classes 

3. Stages of development 

4. Importance of the Industrial Revolution : 

a. A comparison 

b. Old methods ^ 

II. Industry before the age of machinery 

1 . The manorial system 

2. The guilds 

3. Later changes 

III. The Industrial Revolution 

1. The invention of machinery 

2. The factory system: 

a. General features 

b. The consequences 

3. Early American manufacturing 

4. Later development 

Just as American political development cannot be under- 
stood without some knowledge of its European back- 
ground, so the economic development of our rich natural 
resources was conditioned upon England's earlier industrial 
progress. A brief survey of the State as a social institu- 
tion was necessary before our study of the American State 

223 



224 Problems of American Democracy 

in particular. A similar sketch of the evolution of indus- 
trial society is necessary before we undertake a study of 
the present problems of industry in our American 
democracy. 

Industrial Society. — Just as protection is the object 
of a politically organized society, so production is the end 
Factors in of economic society. The two primary factors 
production. j Q p ro( juction are i an( j an d labor. Land, in its 

economic sense, means limited natural resources and 
includes such things as mineral wealth and water resources. 
It represents nature's part in the production of wealth. 
Man's part is represented by labor, which broadly speaking 
is the wage-earning population. The production of 
wealth, however, is at present rarely achieved by the 
combination of these two primary factors only. Very 
early in the development of industry a secondary factor 
known as capital, came into existence. Capital may be 
denned as the product of past labor used for further pro- 
duction. Material wealth may be divided into two kinds 
of goods. In the first place, there are those kinds of goods, 
like food and clothing, which serve man's immediate wants; 
in the second place, there are such articles as plows and 
engines, which further directly the production of more 
wealth. Tools and machinery belong to this class, and 
such goods are known as capital. 

The development of industrial society has been char- 
acterized by an increasing amount of capital. When 

primitive man used several days' labor to fashion 
istics: a crude sort of spade, instead of satisfying his 

dfpmdence. nun g er directly by digging for clams with his 

naked hands, he was creating capital. Seed, 
which was saved for some future planting and not eaten, 



The Industrial Revolution 225 

also became capital. Indeed, capital has been termed the 
seed of industry. The development of industrial society 
is marked by another characteristic which is closely related 
to the first one. Social organization and cooperation 
accompany the division of labor made necessary by the 
development of capital. This is absent among primitive 
groups, where each family is a complete economic unit. 
The Industrial Revolution carried division of labor to a 
degree never before known. Thus, in more advanced 
countries there is a complete specialization of effort; one 
man farms, another makes shoes, and still another 
exchanges goods produced in the community. 

In addition to the growth of social organization there 
goes on a process of invention and discovery within the 
group, whereby man has been enabled to util- r 

. . . . . Inventions. 

ize more fully his economic environment. Dis- 
coveries and inventions, such as the rotation of crops, the 
expansive power of steam, and the modern mechanical 
inventions have multiplied enormously the productivity 
of nature. This has been called man's conquest of nature 
and is part of the process of the evolution of industrial 
society. The twin forces of invention and of social organi- 
zation have created a social surplus, that is, a surplus of 
goods above what is needed for present consumption. 
Each new invention or change in organization means a 
problem of social adjustment, and the transition period 
may be one of hardship. 

Another characteristic of industry may be found in the 
formation of social classes, whose existence is due to the 
development of industrial society, as well as to social 
the growth of the State, the effect of war, and classes - 
numerous other forces. The earliest division of labor and 



226 Problems of American Democracy 

of social classes was based on sex. In savage societies the 
women worked while the men hunted. Later, society was 
divided into a slave and a leisure class. We have seen how 
the conquering group exploited the labor of the conquered 
by the institution of slavery. Upon it developed many 
ancient cultures and civilizations. Modern industrial 
society involves social distinctions based upon labor and 
capital. These groups, however, should not be antago- 
nistic, but complementary and interdependent. 

Social evolution divides the development of industrial 
society into four stages: (i) hunting and fishing; (2) pas- 
sta es of toral; (3) agricultural, and (4) industrial. There 
develop- i s no clearly cut line of demarcation between 

ment. 

these stages. Like other periods of history, one 
gradually fades into the other. Often we may see both 
existing side by side. Again, some groups advance more 
rapidly than others and arrive earlier at an advanced stage. 
With the passage from the hunting and fishing periods to 
the pastoral, and then to the agricultural stage, there are 
developed the early handicrafts like weaving and pottery 
making. When the fourth stage is reached, the society 
has usually attained a high degree of civilization. 

The Industrial Revolution took place after European 
civilization had long been in the last stage of economic 
impor- development. It occurred during the last half 

* a *l ce °* of the eighteenth and the first part of the nine- 
Revolution: teenth centuries. The French Revolution, 

A comparison. i • i ■ 1 1 i , ., .. ? 

which took place about the same time, was tar 
more spectacular and produced great social and political 
changes. The gradual, progressive, economic changes in 
the method of production, which is merely another way 
of defining the Industrial Revolution, were not heralded 



The Industrial Revolution 



227 



so loudly as the guillotining of a few aristocrats. Never- 
theless, they were perhaps of far greater moment to the 
world. The Industrial Revolution made it possible for 
Europe to double her population within the next century. 
Great cities arose as if by magic. There had been some 
improvement in the method of agriculture after the close 
of the Middle Ages, but labor-saving machinery was a 
distinct development of the nineteenth century. 




Old-Fashioned Spinning Wheel 

Before the Industrial Revolution manufacturing was 
still done by hand, as the etymology of the word indicates. 
The distaff had been supplanted by the spinning wheel. 



228 



Problems of American Democracy 



Weaving was done by a cumbersome hand loom. Home- 
spun cloth was worn by the patriots of the Revolution. 
The old Methods of illumination, as well as of transpor- 

tation, had made little progress. Animal fats were 
used for making candles and oils required in lamps. Mod- 
ern means of communication, like the telegraph and tele- 
phone, were undreamed of. Men journeyed on land like 




Hand Printing Press 



the ancients, on foot or by horseback. On sea the small 
sailing vessel had not been replaced by the huge steamer. 
The means of travel used by Napoleon's troops were hardly 
superior to those of the legionaries of Caesar. Indeed 
many of the old Roman roads offered a means of trans- 
portation superior to those of that day. In order to appre- 
ciate fully the gains of the Industrial Revolution let us see, 



The Industrial Revolution 229 

therefore, what economic conditions were like before the 
great mechanical inventions took place in the eighteenth 
and nineteenth centuries. 

Industry Before the Age of Machinery. — During the. 
Middle Ages, when agriculture was the prevailing occupa- 
tion, population was widely scattered through- The 
out the country districts of Europe. The insti- manorial 

. . . system. 

tution of feudalism, determining the economic as 
well as the military organization of society, made the manor 
the unit of agricultural production. The serfs who tilled 
the soil lived in small villages close to the protecting walls 
of the neighboring castle or manor house. Their wretched 
huts, with thatched roof and crude interior, often shel- 
tered both man and beast. On all sides lay the lord's 
estate composed of woodland for hunting, meadow land 
for grazing, and the lands for actual farming. Some of 
these farm lands the lord kept for himself, but the remainder 
was divided into strips for the serfs, who worked not only 
their own lands but also their lord's. The serf also paid 
the lord a rent in the form of a share of the produce derived 
from the land which he tilled for his own support. Not 
only were methods of agriculture crude, but one-third of the 
land lay fallow every year. The manor, shut off from the 
outside world and supported by its own activities, had 
little intercourse with the rest of Christendom. 

The medieval towns were the birthplaces of commerce 
and manufacturing, which were carried on by an organiza- 
tion of trade and craft guilds. A trade guild _ 

& . ° The guilds. 

included the merchants of that particular town, 
and a craft guild, the makers of a special commodity. Not 
only was a fraternal spirit maintained in each group, but a 
practical monopoly was secured by the members, who 



230 Problems of American Democracy 

excluded outsiders from participation in the production of 
that particular commodity and also placed restrictions upon 
their own activities. The quantity and quality of the 
goods produced were carefully regulated. Medieval pro- 
duction was, of course, carried on by hand and under the 
careful eye of the master. A boy worked as an apprentice 
while he learned the trade. After the period of appren- 
ticeship had expired, he became a journeyman and could 
then work for wages. Upon the accumulation of a little 
capital, he might set up a shop for himself and become a 
master workman. Medieval trade and commerce were 
carried on at certain markets and by great annual fairs. 

The Crusades helped to break down feudalism by stimu- 
lating commerce, while the Black Death hastened the 
Later gradual decay of serfdom. When the manorial 

c anges. system began to decline, a class of farm laborers 
appeared to take the place of the medieval serf. With the 
decline of guilds, great trading companies came into exist- 
ence, like the London and East India Companies, which 
planned to carry on commerce with the new lands that had 
been discovered. The craft guilds were replaced by the 
domestic system of manufacturing, whereby artisans could 
now set up hand machinery in their own homes and there 
carry on production free from the protection of the guild. 
The necessity for some sort of protection in industry, 
together with the decline of feudalism, led finally to the 
development of strong national governments. 

The Industrial Revolution. — The textile industries 
_. . were the first to be revolutionized by the use of 

The inven- J 

tion of machinery. Under the domestic system weaving 

machinery. 

was done upon the hand loom by the father of 
the house, assisted perhaps by a journeyman, while the 



The Industrial Revolution 231 

women did the spinning on the primitive spinning wheel. 
But, during the second half of the eighteenth century, a 
great series of mechanical inventions took place, which 
completely altered these simple processes. Hargreaves 
invented a "spinning jenny" which could spin several 
threads at once out of the raw material, while Cartwright's 
power loom superseded the slower method of weaving by 
hand. Another Englishman, named Watt, gave to the 
world the steam engine. Eli Whitney's cotton gin increased 
the supply of raw cotton for the manufacture of cloth. 
These were the first of a series of great mechanical inven- 
tions which have continued down to our own day. The 
movement began in England in the manufacture of tex- 
tiles, but has spread to other lands and other industries. 
The locomotive and the steamboat have revolutionized 
means of transportation as much as the earlier inventions 
revolutionized methods of manufacturing. The last cen- 
tury has been called the age of steam and machinery. 

The new machinery, with its great demands for capital, 
was responsible for the change to the factory system of 
manufacturing. The cumbersome mechanical The 
inventions were too large and costly for the cot- factor y 

m ° J system: 

tage weavers and spinners to set up in their General 
homes. Large factories were therefore built to 
house the new machinery, and production went from the 
home into large specialized industrial plants. Since this 
method required great sums of money, a new capitalistic 
class, who owned the instruments of production, sprang 
into existence. The laborers, who had formerly owned 
their own tools, now became a group of machine operators 
who no longer worked for themselves. Population shifted 
to the regions where coal and iron were to be found and 



232 Problems of American Democracy 

great industrial towns grew up. Many of the estates, 
which had formerly been regarded as common pasture 
land, were inclosed for the benefit of the local landlord, 
who raised sheep in order to procure a supply of raw wool 
for the manufacture of cloth. 

This change worked hardship to the rural workers of Eng- 
land, many of whom came to the town to seek employment 
in the factories. Again, the new machinery drove many 
Theconse- of the hand weavers out of employment. In 
quences. alleys and cellars some kept up a futile competi- 
tion for a lower wage, while others retaliated by burning 
and destroying the new machinery. A period of adjust- 
ment was necessary before labor could adapt itself to the 
new industrial environment. During this period of tran- 
sition there was considerable disorder and distress. In 
America, there was comparatively little manufacturing 
before the Industrial Revolution and such problems of 
adjustment were not difficult at that time. But in the long 
run, machinery, like any other improvement, was of great 
benefit to society. It not only multiplied the output, but 
made possible the lowering of prices to such a level that the 
new goods could come within the reach of all. The Indus- 
trial Revolution, however, divided society into the opposing 
camps of capital and labor, whose apparently conflicting 
interests have created many modern problems. The early 
social effects of the factory system were disastrous because 
the first factories were unhealthy and housing conditions 
were equally unsanitary. The problems of women in 
industry and of child labor likewise sprang into existence. 
The Industrial Revolution was largely responsible for 
England's proud position of industrial and commercial 
leadership, which continued undisputed until the economic 



The Industrial Revolution 233 

expansion of Germany and the United States. Looking 
overseas at their great colonial empire, Englishmen might 
well be proud of their country; but, glancing inwardly at 
industrial conditions, the picture was not so inspiring. 

Colonies were at first regarded as important for maintain- 
ing industrial supremacy. They were viewed as sources of 
raw materials and as markets for finished goods. The Rev- 
olutionary War represented the opposition of Americans 
to the theory that colonies existed for the benefit of the 
mother country. It was forbidden to export machinery to 
the colonies, and America was prohibited from 
manufacturing certain things which were pro- American 
duced in England. The Navigation Act dealt £J££ ac " 
a severe blow to New England, where ship build- 
ing and commerce were flourishing. The Revolutionary 
War, on the other hand, stimulated national industry, for 
it forced the colonies to do their own manufacturing. 
When the war was over, the new American industries 
were threatened by a flood of European goods. Alexander 
Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, made a strong plea 
for protection in his Report on Manufactures, submitted 
to Congress in 1792. The War of 1812 has been called a 
second war for independence. This is true in an economic, 
as well as in a political, sense. Like many nations of 
Europe, America had been dependent upon England for 
her manufactured products. The Napoleonic Wars were 
a temporary check to the commerce of England, and 
America was forced more and more to depend upon herself. 
The manufacture of textiles took firm root, for this was 
the period of rapid growth of our infant industries. While 
the South clung to agriculture, the industrialization of the 
North went on steadily. 



234 Problems of American Democracy 

The need for increased revenue during the Civil War pro- 
duced high protective tariffs which resulted in increased 
home manufactures. From 1859 to 1869 the capital invest- 
_ ed and the number of workers employed in 

develop- manufacturing doubled. This rapid rate of 

ment. . ° f 

increase has been maintained ever since the war. 
The value of our manufactures has advanced even more 
rapidly than the increase in our population. Along with 
this increased valuation, a corresponding change in the 
character and volume of our exports took place. Food- 
stuffs took a relatively lower, and manufactured articles a 
relatively higher, place in the list of exports. The more 
recent industrialization of America has placed this nation 
in competition with Great Britain and Germany in the 
markets of the World. It has created such economic prob- 
lems as the tariff and large scale production. Social 
maladjustments, such as child labor, urban congestion, 
and unhealthy working conditions followed the Industrial 
Revolution in America as in England. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Define the factors in production. 

2. Describe the characteristics of industrial society. 

3. What are the four stages of development of industry? 

4. Why is capital important? 

5. What has largely created the surplus wealth of modern society? 

6. How did modern social classes arise? 

7. State the advantages of an industrial society over an agri- 
cultural community. 

8. Why does an industrial society combine at the same time so 
many benefits and evils? 

9. Enumerate both benefits and evils. 

10. Describe the organization of a feudal manor. 

11. What two kinds of guilds were there? 



The Industrial Revolution 235 

12. Describe the regulations and advantages of the guilds. 

13. What factors influenced commerce during the Middle Ages? 

14. What was the original meaning of the word "manufacture"? 

15. What economic changes took place at the close of the Middle 
Ages and at the beginning of the modern era? 

16. Describe some old-fashioned ways of doing things. 

17. Name some of the great mechanical inventions that intro- 
duced the Industrial Revolution. 

18. Contrast the domestic and the factory system of industry. 

19. Explain the effects of the factory system. 

20. Sketch the history of early American industry. 

21. How do you account for its later development? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Woman's share in primitive industry. 

2. The medieval guilds. 

3. The domestic system of manufacturing (e. g., Silas Marner in 
George Eliot's novel). 

4. The great mechanical inventions of the Industrial Revolution. 

5. The economic effects of the Industrial Revolution. 

6. The age of capitalism. 

7. The Industrial Revolution in America. 

8. The rise of American industry after the Civil War. 

9. The economic rivalry of England and Germany. 
10. Society as a social organism. 

REFERENCES 

Ashley, W. J. English Economic History. 

Cheyney, E. P. Industrial and Social History of England. 

Co-man, K. Industrial History of the United States. 

Munro, D. C. A History of the Middle Ages. 

Toynbee, A. The Industrial Revolution. 

Wright, C. D. Industrial Evolution of the United States. 



CHAPTER XIX 

Modern Capitalistic Production 

I. Division of labor 
i. Nature: 

a. In life 

b. In industry 

2. Kinds 

3. Importance 

4. Value in exchange: 

a. Origin 

b. Meaning 

5. Effects on labor 

6. Some disadvantages 

7. The gains 

II. Large scale production 

1. Illustrations 

2. Advantages: 

a. Use of by-products 

b. Other economies 

3. Limitations 

4. Scientific management: 

a. Advantages 

b. The danger 

The Industrial Revolution was signalized by great 
changes in methods of economic production. The inven- 
tion of machinery made division of labor more complex, 
while the tremendous amount of capital required stimulated 
large scale production and the growth of the modern 
corporation. 

236 



Modem Capitalistic Production 237 

Division of Labor. — The meaning and importance of 
division of labor is fundamental, if one is to understand the 
industrial organization of modern society. Com- Nature : 
petition and cooperation are twin forces in the In u ^ e - 
economic, as well as in the biologic, world. As one ascends 
the scale of life from the lower to the higher forms, one 
observes an increasing amount of cooperation as well as 
an increasing complexity of structure. Special nervous, 
digestive, and respiratory systems develop and make 
possible a biological or organic division of labor. The 
organism of society has undergone a similar evolution from 
the simple to the complex, accompanied by an increasing 
amount of cooperation and specialization. 

The occupations of primitive man were so simple that 
there was little need for division of labor. There was no 
complex problem of exchange, and each indi- 
vidual confined himself to procuring food for 
himself and his little group. In a similar manner, the 
American pioneer was his own "butcher, baker, and candle- 
stick maker." We have seen the simple economy of medie- 
val Europe and how each manor was almost self-sufficient. 
The earliest commerce was between the towns and the 
surrounding country. However, there had already been 
growing up a simple division of labor based upon occupa- 
tions. This can be seen in the origin of last names, which 
were gradually added to the given names. Thus, John 
the smith became John Smith and William the miller, 
William Miller. 

Division of labor into simple crafts and occupations is 
as old as the age of handicraft manufactures. 
The Industrial Revolution developed this simple 
division of labor into more intricate forms because the 



2 3 8 



Problems of American Democracy 



invention of machinery subdivided the work of manufac- 
turing into minute tasks. The earlier division of labor 
provided for shoemakers, who had learned the trade by 
apprenticeship, and who could make by hand a finished 




Cutting Leather in a Shoe Factory, Lynn 

product. To-day, the making of shoes is done by machinery. 
Each individual worker performs but one simple task, as, 
for illustration, stitching on the sole and fastening on 
the heel. Thus, a single pair of shoes goes through a 



Modem Capitalistic Production 239 

number of different hands. In addition to this division of 
labor between individuals there is a division of labor 
between countries, which is known as geographical division 
of labor. The Crusades stimulated a demand upon the part 
of Europeans for the spices and silks of the East. Com- 
merce sprang up in which the products of one land were 
exchanged for those of another. A country, like an indi- 
vidual, tends to produce those things for which it is best 
fitted by nature. 

Division of labor has made individuals and countries 
economically specialized. The World War has shown man- 
kind how interdependent are its various parts. i mpor - 
Nations starve and pestilences rage when the tance - 
healing stream of commerce is checked, because afflicted 
people are unable to get essential food and drugs. A con- 
sideration of the various articles upon the lunch table will 
show how many corners of the globe are represented. The 
coffee or chocolate has come from the plantations of South 
America and the tea from the Orient. At the same time 
the factory system has taken production out of the home 
and placed each task in the hands of specialists. The 
bread and butter were therefore probably bought from 
some local dealer and not made at home in the old-fashioned 
way. The canned fruit came from the corner-grocer, who 
purchased it from the wholesaler, who, in turn, bought it 
from the cannery. A still different group of workers picked 
the fruit while others were engaged in the work of trans- 
portation. 

A number of questions suggest themselves in connection 
with this principle of division of labor and the interchange 
of commodities which it necessitates. Can such an intricate 
system work smoothly and always adjust itself quickly to 



240 Problems of American Democracy 

new conditions? Cannot one group of workers, by refus- 
ing to cooperate, impede for the time being the whole 
Valu - n industrial system? Again, how is the relative im- 
exchange: portance of each factor in the wealth-creating 
process determined? Division of labor necessi- 
tates the exchange of products between men and nations. 
This process of exchange brings up the problem of value. If 
the shoemaker wishes to exchange some of his shoes for 
the clothes of the tailor, upon what basis shall it be done? 
A suit of clothes is worth how many pairs of shoes? The 
direct system of exchanging goods for goods is called barter 
and is practiced only in primitive communities. Civilized 
nations solve the problem by using money as a standard 
of value and as a medium of exchange. 

For this purpose gold has been used for many centuries. 
It was formerly weighed out like any other commodity, but 
is now minted into coins of a standard weight 
and purity. Thus we say, for example, that the 
suit of the tailor is worth forty gold dollars and shoes 
but ten gold dollars. The suit is then worth four times as 
much as the shoes, and forty times as much as the gold in 
a single dollar. Value is "the power of a good to command 
other goods in exchange for itself." Price is value measured 
in terms of one special commodity called money. 

Increased division of labor should mean more goods and 
cheaper goods because specialization generally results in 
Effects greater skill. Making homespun cloth was just 

on labor. one Q £ ^q countless things that made up the 
working day of our pioneer ancestors. If one could devote 
the entire time to the making of clothes, however, one would 
become an expert tailor. Again, division of labor makes 
it possible to adapt the different tasks to the different types 



Modern Capitalistic Production 241 

of human ability. It can take into account the physical 
and mental differences in people. When there are many 
different occupations, it is easier to find one which is suited 
to one's taste, ability, or character. Division of labor also 
makes possible the utilization of cheap, unskilled labor. 
When production was carried on by hand-tools, instead of 
by machinery, a period of apprenticeship was necessary 
in order to become a skilled craftsman. The Industrial 
Revolution on the other hand, created a demand for a 
relatively large number of machine tenders. Little skill, 
strength, or intelligence is required, and unfortunately child 
labor is often in demand. Division of labor is the cause as 
well as the result of the use of machinery. Such a reciprocal 
relationship between cause and effect is very common in 
social and economic problems. The use of machinery has 
increased the degree of division of labor, while this division 
of the process into smaller and simpler tasks has in turn 
resulted in the invention of machinery. 

There are certain disadvantages resulting from industrial 
specialization in spite of the increased output and uniform 
quality of the goods produced. Such critics of some dis- 
the Industrial Revolution as John Ruskin and advanta s es - 
William Morris have declared that standardization in 
industry tends to destroy the individuality of both the 
worker and his work. Minute division of labor resolves the 
working day into a mere continuous repetition of certain 
monotonous acts. There is little variety in such a task as 
soldering the tops on an endless line of tin-cans, fed to the 
worker by automatic machinery. The joy of workmanship 
is dulled when one performs but a small task and cannot carry 
the process through to its completed stage. Not only is the 
work monotonous, but it frequently dwarfs the intelligence. 

Q 



242 



Problems of American Democracy 



These disadvantages to the worker are more than offset 
by the greater number of comforts of modern life. The 
new machinery has brought its products within 
the reach of the worker's pocket-book. Because 
the great mechanical inventions make it possible to do the 
same amount of work in much less time, the working day 
has grown steadily shorter since the Industrial Revolution. 




A Modern Printing Press 



This increase in the amount of leisure time for recreation 
and education makes it possible for the worker to forget 
the uninspiring monotony of his work. At the same time 
public libraries, recreation centers, and modern places of 
amusement enable him to employ his leisure time in acquir- 
ing knowledge, in improving health, or seeking entertain- 
ment. 



Modern Capitalistic Production 243 

Large Scale Production. — Division of labor has 
reached its highest development under large scale produc- 
tion. The Industrial Revolution, with its ni us tra- 
increased use of capital, drove industry from the tlons ' 
home into the factory. The use of expensive machinery is 
only profitable when articles are produced upon a very 
large scale. Consequently, the increased use of machinery, 
division of labor, and large scale production have all devel- 
oped side by side. The automobile, the steel, and meat- 
packing industries, are good illustrations of large scale pro- 
duction. At first, in the iron industry, the ore was unloaded 
from boats on the Great Lakes by ordinary hand labor; but 
with the development of large scale production the steel 
crane and automatic grab buckets were employed. Finally 
the electric magnet was used to swing great masses of iron 
ashore. Andrew Carnegie amassed a colossal fortune 
because he made the steel industry one of large scale pro- 
duction. Similarly the cheap price of the Ford automo- 
bile is made possible by standardization and manufacturing 
upon a large scale. Again, the packing houses of Chicago 
slaughter thousands of cattle a day. There is a regular 
routine followed from the swinging of the live steer upon 
a travelling carriage to the pasting of labels upon the cans 
of corned beef. 

Large scale production makes possible not only the 
increased use of machinery and division of labor, but also 
the utilization of by-products which were former- Advan _ 
ly thrown away. The packers boast that the tages: 

. .,.,., By-products. 

only part of the hog which is not utilized is the 
squeal. The bristles are used for brushes, the fats for 
making glycerine and soaps, and bone refuse is converted 
into fertilizer. The manufacture of coke from bituminous 



244 Problems of American Democracy 

coal was formerly conducted with a great amount of waste. 
Not only is the coal gas now used, but the coal tar has 
become very valuable as the source of many chemical dyes. 
It is estimated that hundreds of articles, from tooth paste 
to shoe polish, are made from coal tar by-products. The 
utilization of by-products is the result of long experimen- 
tation, the expenses of which can only be met by large 
scale production. 

The Standard Oil Company, in order to effect economies, 
maintains laboratories to study the possibilities of the 
other various distillations from crude petroleum. 

economies. Again, large producers can effect many economies 
in both buying and selling. In every modern business there 
are certain fixed expenses which must be met, whether the 
returns are great or small. Thus, if the industry is one of 
large scale production, the expense per unit of product is 
reduced. Buying a large amount of raw material at one 
time tends to reduce the cost of production. Many large 
scale industries have therefore sought to control the supply 
of raw materials needed and, in this way, have tended to 
become monopolistic enterprises. 

There are certain limitations, however, to large scale 
production. It is often objected that there is not a suf- 
Limita- ficient supply of requisite managerial ability, 
tions. Great captains of industry, like Andrew Car- 

negie, are rare. Again, not all industries are adapted to 
large scale production. Agriculture, for illustration, seems 
to thrive best under small scale production. Moreover, 
any industry cannot keep on expanding indefinitely. There 
is a point of maximum efficiency which varies with each 
industry. To go beyond this may mean increased cost 
per unit of product. Again, there is the constant danger 



Modern Capitalistic Production 245 

of monopoly. Size may be sought in order to crush com- 
petition, rather than to lower prices through the economies 
of large scale production. 

Large scale production requires not only an enormous 
amount of capital, but also an efficient organization. 
Scientific management often carries division of 
labor to an extreme. A personnel department manage- 
strives to put each employee in the position for ^f n '. 

" r J f Advantages. 

which he or she is best fitted. Often examina- 
tions and psychological tests are held to determine the 
applicant's fitness. Large concerns frequently maintain 
their own training schools. Efficiency experts visit indus- 
trial plants and large commercial houses to advise them 
how to increase production. Conditions are studied to 
determine where there is a waste of effort or material. 
New and more efficient methods are then introduced. It 
is not economical to have a highly paid employee doing 
work which could be done by cheaper labor. Mr. Taylor, 
a pioneer in scientific management, studied workmen who 
were laying bricks in order to find out what were wasted 
motions. As a result of this investigation, a standardized 
method of laying bricks was determined upon. After care- 
ful experimentation, the best sized shovel for excavation 
was similarly discovered. The good results of scientific 
management are obvious when it produces greater efficiency 
and decreased waste. 

It is objected that scientific management makes the 
individual a mere cog in a great machine. It is also main- 
tained that the methods introduced are designed 
to get the utmost effort out of the employee 
regardless of his physical well-being. Machines may be 
deliberately put upon a higher gear in order to "speed up 



246 Problems of American Democracy 

the employee" to his maximum strength and speed. 
Increased production at the price of excessive human 
fatigue is poor economy. The conservation of human 
resources is even more vital than that of physical resources. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. What is division of labor? Illustrate. 

2. Compare division of labor before and after the Industrial 
Revolution. 

3 . What is geographical division of labor? Illustrate advantages. 

4. How does division of labor give rise to the problem of exchange? 

5. How does division of labor necessitate a problem of value? 

6. What is value? What is price? 

7. Explain the advantages of division of labor. 

8. What are the objections? 

9. What are its effects upon labor? 

10. Give some illustrations of large scale production. 

1 1 . What are the essential features of large scale production? 

12. Explain the advantages of large scale production. 

13. Show its limitations and dangers. 

14. Show the relationship of capital to division of labor and large 
scale production. 

15. Explain the purpose and method of scientific management. 

16. What objections have been raised to this system? 

17. What are its advantages? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1 . John Ruskin and the Industrial Revolution. 

2. Take some article of clothing and show what extreme division 
of labor is involved in its production. 

3. The methods and organization of some industry which illus- 
trates large scale production. 

4. The effect of war upon geographical division of labor. 

5. The possibilities of scientific management. 

6. The gains of standardization. 

7. Capital in modern production. 



Modem Capitalistic Production 247 

REFERENCES 

Burch, H. R. American Economic Life. Chapter XXVI. 
Clay, H. Economics for the General Reader. Chapters II and III. 
Ely, R. T. Outlines of Economics. Chapter VIII. 
Marshall, Wright and Field. Materials for the Study of Ele- 
mentary Economics. Chapters V and VI. Part A. 
Seager, H. R. Introduction to Economics. Chapter IX. 
Taussig F. W. Principles of Economics. Chapters III, IV and V. 



CHAPTER XX 

Modern Capitalistic Organization 

I. Earlier forms of business organization 
i. The single enterpriser 
2. The partnership 
II. The corporate form of business organization 
i. Character of the corporation 

2. Economic advantages 

3. The promotion of a new enterprise: 

a. The promoter 

b. The new company 

4. Organization 

5. Nature of securities : 

a. Stocks 

b. Bonds 

6. Social dangers: 

a. Political corruption 

b. Manipulation of subsidiary companies 

c. Financial jugglery 

d. Overcapitalization 

e. Speculation 

Earlier Forms of Business Organization. — Before 
the development of the great corporation, industry was 
„,, . ., conducted almost entirely by the individual 

The single > J J 

enter- business man. To-day the single enterpriser 

priser. . ... 

continues to predominate m small scale produc- 
tion. Since he assumes the risk of the business, he reaps 
the profits or suffers the losses of the undertaking. The 

248 



Modern Capitalistic Organization 249 

enterpriser may be a great merchant prince, or the humble 
boot-black who shines his shoes; but large scale production 
generally assumes the corporate form. The enterpriser 
brings together land, labor, and capital, the three funda- 
mental factors in production. Although he may lease 
some land and borrow some money, a portion of the capital 
must be his own. Although he must hire a sufficient num- 
ber of employees to run the business, the labor of managing 
the enterprise is his own. Upon his shoulders falls squarely 
the responsibility of the undertaking. Not only must the 
successful enterpriser possess energy and foresight, but he 
must be a good judge of men and conditions in order to 
foresee prices and the changing demands of a fickle public. 
Especially important qualities are organizing ability and 
leadership which can inspire loyalty and confidence. The 
battle of economic competition develops industrial generals 
who have frequently risen from the ranks. Conditions in 
America seem to have been favorable for developing the 
qualities of the successful enterpriser. Asia has given to 
the world great religious teachers, Europe men of letters 
and science, but America the great captains of industry. 

A partnership is an association of two or more indi- 
viduals, who are jointly responsible for their enterprise. 
Each partner is liable for all the obligations of The part- 
the firm and must abide by a contract signed by nershi P- 
any other partner. Recently there has been a tendency 
toward what are known as limited liability partnerships. 
Although there is a disadvantage in joint responsibility, 
more capital can be secured by several individuals than by 
any one of them singly. Again, this business arrangement 
may afford to each partner an opportunity to specialize in 
the kind of work for which he is best fitted. Partnerships 



250 Problems of American Democracy 

are well adapted to enterprises requiring comparatively 
little capital and depending chiefly upon skill and talent. 
The profession of law, for example, affords numerous 
illustrations of this form of association. Another illustra- 
tion is retailing business, depending to a large degree upon 
personality. 

The Corporate Form of Business Organization. 

Large scale production requires an enormous amount of 

capital, to supply which the modern corpora- 

of the tion has come into existence. A corporation is 

corporation. . , . 

an association of a great number of individuals 
known as stockholders, who are financially liable only to 
the value of the amount of stock held individually. It is 
a fictitious person before the law, that is, it can sue or be 
sued, incur debts, make contracts, and in short do anything 
which an ordinary individual can do. The corporation 
derives its right to exist from a state charter, which when 
granted in one commonwealth must be recognized in all 
the others. In the past, because of lenient regulations, 
New Jersey was sought by many associations desiring to 
incorporate. Recently, however, this commonwealth 
together with most of the other states, have added con- 
stitutional or statute restrictions concerning the granting 
of franchises to new companies. Many commonwealths 
have passed "blue sky laws" to protect the public by 
restricting the activity and preventing the incorporation of 
financially unsound organizations. 

The corporation enjoys a number of advantages over the 
other forms of business organization. This artificial crea- 
Economic ture has a perpetual existence, if its life is not 
advantages. ]j m ited ^y ^ e j-{ me c l ause m the franchise. 

Stockholders may die and officers resign, but the corpora- 



Modern Capitalistic Organization 251 

tion may go on forever. Its chief advantage lies in its 
ability to get together an enormous mass of capital, which 
makes possible large scale production. The fund for such 
enormous organizations as the Pennsylvania Railroad and 
the United States Steel Corporation must be obtained col- 
lectively. Corporate stock can generally be purchased in 
large or small amounts to fit the needs of the individual 
investor. The fact of limited liability gives the corpora- 
tion an advantage over the partnership. If the corporation 
fails, the individual stockholders cannot be called upon to 
make good its losses out of their own pockets. National 
bank stockholders, however, have a double liability, that 
is, they are responsible for twice the value of the stock 
which they hold. The purpose of this unusual arrange- 
ment is to protect the depositors in a national bank. 
Another advantage of the corporate form of business 
organization is the great flexibility of management. 
Reorganization is possible by the election of a new set of 
officers or another board of directors. Experts can also 
be obtained for the management of the various depart- 
ments by the payment of large salaries. 

New corporations are continually being organized as 
new enterprises are launched. The promoter is the man 
who organizes and directs combinations of The 
capital. He secures funds for the development motion of 

A c a new 

of our natural resources. Let us take as our enterprise: 

'11 , ,• ,i r .. j- .<• The promoter. 

illustration the formation of an oil company. 
The professional promoter hears that oil has been struck 
ill a new section of the country. He may go there only to 
discover that the report of the oil possibilities has been 
much exaggerated. On the other hand, the field may 
seem so promising that the promoter may decide in favor 



252 Problems of American Democracy 

of the venture. He may have sufficient funds of his own 
for the early steps, or he may require the assistance of other 
and larger financiers. Geological experts and mining 
engineers are employed to give an opinion as to the best 
probable locations for the prospective wells. The pro- 
moter then buys options upon some of these sites, that is, 
the right to purchase the land for a certain sum at the 
expiration of a given time. In the meantime he has secured 
all the information possible concerning the new prospect. 
More funds are now needed, and the promoter gathers 
around himself a small group of financiers. If he is unable 
to convince them of the possibilities of the oil fields, the 
proposition is dropped for lack of funds. The promoter 
bears the burden of the initial expenses. 

If he is successful in convincing the bankers of the ulti- 
mate success of the undertaking, a new company is incor- 
Thenew porated by securing a charter from the state. 
company. T k e stoc k Q f fa e ne w company may be directly 
subscribed by a number of wealthy investors. More 
likely, however, the issue of securities is "floated" by 
some banking or bonding house. For a certain bonus such 
financial institutions will underwrite an entire issue, that 
is, guarantee its sale to the general investing public. The 
salesmen of the new securities then sell the stocks or bonds 
to individuals and corporations throughout the country. 
The promoter of a new enterprise generally receives as 
his reward a generous slice of the securities. 

The stockholders of a corporation are the ultimate 

source of its authority. This means frequently, however, 

Organi- the mere election of a board of directors, who 

manage the undertaking supposedly in the best 

interests of the stockholders. Each stockholder has as 



Modem Capitalistic Organization 253 

many votes as he has shares of stock, and the balloting is 
generally done by proxy. Only too frequently the small 
holder does not trouble himself to mail to the company 
his choice of officers. As long as the dividend is paid regu- 
larly, he cares little about the management of the corpora- 
tion. The policy of the corporation is thus determined 
by the directors, who are often the large share holders. 
They decide what rate of dividend shall be paid, whether 
the capitalization shall be increased, and if so, whether a 
stock or bond issue shall be resorted to. The board of 
directors may elect an executive committee where the 
corporate responsibility is still further centralized. Other 
necessary committees may be elected or appointed. The 
administrative work is left to salaried officials who may 
or may not be officers of the corporation. For illustra- 
tion, the president of a company may also be the super- 
intendent of the plant, and each of the vice presidents 
may be in charge of a department. The organization of 
a corporation is strongly influenced by the kind of industry 
represented. In general there are three fundamental 
departments; namely, the producing, the selling, and the 
administrative departments. Each of these departments 
has its own subdivisions and managers. 

Securities, such as stocks and bonds, merely represent 
the economic wealth which lies behind them. They are 
paper certificates of the ownership of economic Nature of 
wealth, such as land and capital. When we say securities: 
that the United States Steel Corporation has a 
capitalization of two billion dollars, it should mean that 
this company has two billion dollars worth of land, build- 
ings, machinery, etc. Stocks and bonds can be broken up 
into convenient divisions more easily than the real wealth 



254 Problems of American Democracy 

represented. If Mr. Blank owns a thousand dollars' worth 
of stock, it merely means that he owns that fraction of the 
company's real wealth. A thousand-dollar bond would 
make him a creditor of the company to that extent. The 
stockholders are members of the corporation and are often 
small inactive enterprisers. The dividend paid upon their 
stock represents their share of the fluctuating returns of the 
corporation. The stock itself represents the wealth 
invested in the corporation. 

A bond holder is a creditor of the company and not 

necessarily a member of the corporation. Consequently, 

he may have no voice in its internal manage- 

Bonds. . i • i 

ment. He receives interest upon his loan at 
definite times and at a fixed rate of interest. When the 
time of the loan expires, the owner receives the face value 
of the bond. Bond obligations must be met before a 
dividend is declared. If a corporation cannot pay the 
interest upon its debts it is insolvent. Stock may be 
divided into common and preferred, and the earnings of 
the latter group of securities may be fairly constant like 
the interest upon bonds. The elements of risk and profits 
tend to balance each other, for the investor cannot get 
maximum safety and maximum profit. Speculative stocks 
will pay high dividends because of the risk involved. The 
comparatively low rate of interest on municipal and gov- 
ernment bonds is due to their high degree of security, 
which makes them attractive to conservative investors. 

Some of the very advantages of the corporate form of 
business organization indicate the dangerous possibilities. 
Limited liability and flexibility of management result in 
indirect and absentee ownership. For this reason a great 
corporation is said to possess no soul. Real, not fictitious, 



Modem Capitalistic Organization 255 

persons feel a sense of responsibility. In the story of Mrs. 
Shelley, Frankenstein proved a dangerous monster after 
his creation. The very size of the modern cor- 
poration makes it a possibility for evil as well as dangers: 
good. Its vast funds may be used for political F c °lf^ on 
corruption, whereby undue power is wielded and 
legislation inimical to social welfare is enacted. Internal 
politics may be played within the corporation, while high- 
salaried sinecures are not unknown. 

Furthermore, a few influential members may organize 
subsidiary companies and concentrate in them a portion of 
the company's profits. For illustration, a few subsidiary 
directors of a large automobile company may com $ ames - 
organize an independent company to build automobile 
bodies. By charging an exorbitant price for these bodies, 
the small subsidiary company may make large profits at 
the expense of the original corporation. 

Officers may sometimes pay themselves high salaries at 
the expense of dividends or to conceal the high profits. 
Another abuse is connected with the borrowing Financial 
power of the corporation. Bond issues may be Juggery - 
floated which are far in excess of what the earnings of the 
company warrant. Corporations can also be forced into 
bankruptcy and then reorganized. A similar object may 
be accomplished by giving out false reports to discourage 
the stockholders, who sell out cheaply and leave the pro- 
moter and his friends in control. After this purpose has 
been accomplished, the price of the securities may then 
rise to their proper value. 

The value of the stocks and bonds of a corporation should 
equal its real wealth. Such is not always the case. The 
franchise, certain privileges granted the company, and 



256 Problems of American Democracy 

various intangible assets are sometimes capitalized, that is, 
given a monetary value, and stock issued to that amount. 
Overcapitai- Up to a certain extent this is legitimate, for 
many of these things have proper commer- 
cial value. Great evils, however, result when the privileges 
are capitalized at an exorbitant figure. This has been 
illustrated in the consolidation of street car companies. 
Again, stock has sometimes been issued which has had no 
physical basis at all. Promoters have been given large 
shares of stocks which have no paid-in value. Such a pro- 
cess is known as overcapitalization or stock watering. The 
more a stock is diluted the less becomes the value of each 
share. All the stockholders may suffer for the benefit of 
a few. Sometimes all the stockholders may receive a grant 
of stock. If this is equal in value to, and in lieu of, a cash 
dividend, the process is legitimate. It merely means that 
the corporation is saving and expanding. Often, however, 
stock dividends are largely water. Overcapitalization may 
be sought to conceal high profits. If a dividend of ten dol- 
lars is paid upon a share of stock valued at a hundred dollars 
the profit is ten per cent. If the capitalization is doubled, 
it now means ten dollars upon every two hundred and thus 
the corporation shows a profit of but five per cent. It is 
easier to add water to stock than to squeeze it out, for those 
who profited by the process of overcapitalization may have 
sold the stock later to legitimate investors. Numerous 
laws have been passed attempting to restrict this evil of 
overcapitalization. 

The ease with which corporate securities can be bought 
and sold in almost any denominations makes speculation 
possible. Stock brokers are middlemen who buy and sell 
securities for their customers. The stock exchange is the 



Modern Capitalistic Organization 257 

market in which they operate. The most important stocks 
and bonds are listed on the New York Exchange where the 
business is largely concentrated . The daily papers 

. 1-11 r Speculation. 

record the closing prices obtained there for the 
chief securities. The more conservative investment securi- 
ties fluctuate but slightly. Fluctuating securities, however, 
afford greater possibility for gain or loss and are known a& 
speculative stocks. Speculators watch the stock market in 
order to buy stocks when they are low, hold them for a rise 
in value, and then sell them for a profit. Fortunes have 
been made and lost on the floor of the stock exchange. If 
the security has been actually bought, such speculation can 
hardly be called gambling. Frequently, however, but a 
small portion of the money for the purchase is advanced 
by the buyer. This practice is called buying on margin. A 
relatively small sum will give a claim upon a considerable 
number of shares. If the stock rises in value, the gain is 
much greater than if a small number of shares had been 
bought outright. If the stock falls in value, the loss is 
equally great and may wipe out the entire margin. The 
speculator must either put up more margin or be sold out. 
The broker, who carries the stock for his customer, charges 
him interest upon the difference between his margin and 
the entire value of the security. By demanding a sufficient 
margin, he usually protects himself against a fall in the 
value of the security. Selling short is the reverse of buying 
on margin. Here the speculation is based on a fall in the 
market value, and the speculator sells for future delivery 
what he really does not possess. Here a rise in value means 
the loss of the margin. It is difficult to draw the line 
legally between legitimate speculation and gambling. How- 
ever, laws have been passed against some of the worst 

R 



258 Problems of American Democracy 

evils of the system, such as the "bucket shop," which tempts 
the small speculator to gamble on the stock market. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Who is the enterpriser and what are his economic functions? 

2. Give some qualities and characteristics of the successful 
enterpriser. 

3. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the partnership. 

4. Define a corporation. Give its characteristics. 

5. What advantages does the corporate form of business organi- 
zation possess? 

6. Outline the steps by which a new corporation would be formed. 

7. Sketch the usual form of organization. 

8. Explain the differences between stocks and bonds. 

9. Enumerate some of the possibilities for abuse under the cor- 
porate form of business organization. 

10. Show the dangers of subsidiary companies. 

1 1 . Explain what is meant by stock watering. 

12. How and why does it happen? 

13. Explain some other forms of financial jugglery. 

14. Why is overcapitalization a pernicious practice? 

15. What can be done by the state to prevent it? 

16. Differentiate between investment, speculation, and gambling. 

17. What is buying on margin? 

18. AVhat is "selling short"? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Great American captains of industry. 

2. The charter of some industrial corporation, real or hypo- 
thetical. 

3. The corporation, a miniature society. 

4. The detailed organization of some industrial corporation with 
which you are familiar. 

5. The work of the stock exchange. 

6. Brokers and the marketing of securities^ 

7. Sound methods of capitalization. 

8. Recent cases of overcapitalization. 



Modern Capitalistic Organization- 259 

REFERENCES 

Burch, H. R. American Economic Life. Chapters XXVII and 
XXXVII. 

Clay, H. Economics for General Reader. Chapters IV and V. 

Cleveland, F. A. First Lessons in Finance. 

Ely, R. T. Outlines of Economics. Chapter XIII. 

Hamilton, W. H. Current Economic Problems. Chapter IV. 

Parts F and G. 
Marshall, Wright and Fields. Materials for Study of Elementary 

Economics. Chapter VI. Part B. 
Meade, E. S. Corporation Finance; Trust Finance. 



CHAPTER XXI 
The Regulation of Monopoly 

I. Economic aspects of monopoly 
i. Definition 

2. Influence of demand 

3. Cost of production 

4. Limitations on monopoly 
II. Kinds of monopoly 

1. Legal 

2. Natural 

3. Artificial: 

a. Labor 

b. Capital 

III. The evolution of the trust 

1. Pooling 

2. Trustees 

3. The holding company 

IV. Social results 

1. Advantages 

2. Disadvantages 
V. Political aspects 

1. Possible public policies 

2. History of regulation: 

a. Sherman Anti-trust Law 

b. Clayton Act 

c. Federal Trade Commission 

d. Supreme Court decisions 

3. Other possibilities 

260 



The Regulation of Monopoly 261 

Economic Aspects of Monopoly. — A monopoly exists 
when there is sufficient control over the supply of a com- 
modity, or service, to fix its price. The real 
test of monopoly is not mere size, but this price- 
determining power. Thus, the village grocer may be a 
monopolist, if he is the only one in town and circumstances 
make outside buying impossible. Monopoly price is that 
price at which the greatest profit accrues to the monopoly. 
A high price can only be maintained by restricting or con- 
trolling the output. Hence the monopoly seeks to control 
and regulate the supply. 

The monopoly price may be a high price, but it is not so 
necessarily. Competitive prices are said to be determined 
by the so-called law of supply and demand, influence 
The competitive price tends to increase with ° eman * 
the demand for a good, and to decrease with its supply. 
The monopolist must study the demand for his article, 
and then regulate its supply and price accordingly. 
Demand for a good is said to be elastic when its sale 
responds quickly to any change in price. On the other 
hand, the demand is inelastic when fluctuations in the 
price of the commodity make comparatively little dif- 
ference in the amount sold. The demand for necessities 
is more inelastic than the demand for comforts and lux- 
uries. The former must be had at any price. If the 
demand for the article produced is very elastic, an increase 
in the price may cause the sale to fall off to such an extent 
that the profits of the monopoly will suffer. More sales 
at a lower price may result in greater gains. When the 
demand is inelastic, as in the case of necessities, the power 
and danger of monopoly are increased. 

Conditions of production must also be considered. The 



262 Problems of American Democracy 

monopolist must find whether the production of his good 
follows the principle of increasing or decreasing cost, that 
Cost of is, whether the cost per unit goes up or down as 
production. ^ vo i ume f output increases. If the indus- 
try is one which enjoys the economies of large scale pro- 
duction, it may be good business to keep the price low. 
It may cost so much less per unit to produce a larger quan- 
tity than a smaller quantity, that greater profits may be 
made with larger sales at a lower price. 

An artificial limitation upon monopoly is governmental 
interference. The two natural limitations are the forces 
T . . . of substitution and competition. If the price 

Limitations x m x 

on rises too high, the consumer may cease his con- 

monopoly. . . 

sumption of that particular good and substi- 
tute another in its place. Thus, if meat becomes exorbi- 
tant in price, the thrifty housewife will be tempted to buy 
more fish and eggs. Substitution is difficult, however, 
with the cheapest necessities of life, such as salt or matches. 
A rising monopoly price may sometimes stimulate action 
upon the part of the producer, as well as upon the part 
of the consumer. Competition may be revived. The 
history of the sugar trust illustrates how a rise in price 
made it possible for independent producers to enter the 
market. A later combination secured another temporary 
monopoly, and the price was again raised. Other inde- 
pendent concerns, however, entered the field and the price 
was lowered. In the background stands the State, when- 
ever governmental interference becomes necessary. The 
power to regulate price has been called "the gun behind 
the door." 

Kinds of Monopoly. — Numerous classifications of mon- 
opolies have been attempted, but all seem to overlap. 



The Regulation of Monopoly 263 

Legal monopolies are those based upon law or govern- 
mental privilege. The production of tobacco and matches 
in France and salt in Saxony illustrates govern- 
mental monopolies. The post office in the United 
States is a legal public monopoly. Even where public 
utilities are not owned and operated by the government, 
there may be exclusive terms in their franchises which 
make them' legal monopolies. Patents and copyrights are 
illustrations of private legal monopolies. 

Natural monopolies are those of location or organiza- 
tion. Where the supply of a commodity is fixed, it is 
fairly easy to establish a monopoly. The scarce 

.,,-,., , ,. , „ Natural. 

and rather localized sources of diamonds well 
illustrate this point. Again, monopoly of supply may be 
secured by obtaining control of the anthracite mines. 
Many public utilities illustrate not only legal monopolies, 
but also natural monopolies of organization. Competition 
is wasteful when there is a large "overhead expense," that 
is, fixed costs which must be met irrespective of the busi- 
ness done. There is a tendency toward monopoly in many 
industries of large scale production. This is especially 
true when they operate under the principle of increasing 
returns, that is, when profits increase relatively faster than 
the business. This is illustrated by the railroads, where 
a relatively large proportion of the freight charges goes for 
fixed expenses of maintenance, which are rather inde- 
pendent of the volume of business done. 

The third group may be called artificial monopolies. 
Although monopolies of organization, they are not in one 
sense natural monopolies. They merely repre- Artificial: 
sent the artificial organization of either labor Labor - 
or capital. A labor union, for example, secures a mon- 



264 Problems of American Democracy 

opoly position if its membership includes practically all 
the workmen of a given trade or craft. Some unions have 
striven to limit the membership in the trade by a rigorous 
apprenticeship. Such a practice may have its justification, 
but the logical outcome of organization is monopoly. The 
closed shop is one in which only union men are employed 
and represents, to a certain extent, a monopoly of labor. 

The trust may become an artificial, capitalistic monopoly. 

Although a monopoly of organization, it is not a natural 

monopoly unless it illustrates the principle of 

Capital. . . ™ - . - 

increasing returns. The secret of the power of 
the trust is its bargaining strength, as much as its pro- 
ducing efficiency. If monopoly is necessary to secure the 
gains of large scale production, the industry may be termed 
a natural monopoly. If, on the other hand, it has become 
a monopoly merely by the process of capitalistic combina- 
tion, the monopoly is artificial. From an economic point 
of view, it is a colossus with feet of clay. Economists dis- 
tinguish between two methods of combination, the ver- 
tical and the horizontal. Vertical combination is an 
attempt to get control of an industry through each of its 
different stages. Control begins with the raw materials 
and ends with each of the finished products. Vertical 
combination may, however, not be a monopoly because 
there may be powerful independent producers. But a 
tendency toward monopoly is sure to manifest itself. 
Horizontal combination is an attempt to combine all the 
producers of a given article in a given stage of production, 
as, for illustration, all the weavers of woolen cloth or all 
the rollers of steel. 

The Evolution of the Trust. — The trust is the corpo- 
ration of corporations. Such a superorganization naturally 



The Regulation of Monopoly 265 

developed through a gradual process of combination. The 
first stage in its development was known as pooling and 
originated with the railroads. Agreements 

11 • 1 • Pooling. 

were made between independent corporations 
to cease the competition that was ruining their profits. 
Prices were fixed, and the market divided by some sort of 
"gentlemen's agreement." It was found difficult in many- 
cases to carry out such an agreement, because some con- 
cerns would secretly undercut the price. No contract had 
been made and the courts could not be appealed to for help. 
Indeed, the law forbade this very practice of price-fixing. 
The pool was so called because frequently the receipts of the 
various companies were put into a common fund, to be 
later divided according to some prearranged apportion- 
ment. 

The second stage has given to the trusts their present 
name. The various corporations, which sought to elimi- 
nate competition among themselves, agreed to 

Trustees. 

turn over their stock to a board of trustees. This 
board gave back in exchange trust certificates. It could 
regulate production and fix price because it held a majority 
of the stock in all the companies. The second stage was 
short-lived, because the courts declared illegal the practice 
of trusteeship. 

The final outcome of this development is the holding 
company. Under this plan each company maintains a 
separate legal existence, but there is formed The holding 
another corporation which is empowered to hold com P an y- 
stock in the other companies. This corporation is known 
as the holding company and secures unity of action, because 
it can command a majority of votes in each of the con- 
stituent companies. Practically the same purpose of com- 



266 Problems of American Democracy 

modity control and price regulation can be obtained under 
this method as under the former illegal method of trustee- 
ship. 

Social Results. — If the trust organization is a natural 
monopoly of increasing returns, it is possible for certain 
Advan- advantages to follow from it. The economies 
tages. Q £ j ar g e sca ] e production may be reflected in a 

lower price. Monopoly may avoid the wastes of com- 
petition and render superior service. In a certain small 
section of a city, for example, it was found that over a 
dozen independent milk dealers covered the same route 
early each morning to the increasing cost of the sleeping 
consumers. Combination, by effecting economies, could 
result in lower prices. It is also claimed that monopoly 
creates a more stable market, for here there is little mis- 
directed production. Under free competition, the price 
fluctuates constantly according to conditions of supply 
and demand, whereas monopoly seeks to study demand 
and regulate supply accordingly. The natural effect of 
this process is to stabilize prices. 

Monopoly price may be steadier than competitive price, 
but it is frequently higher. Society has not always received 
Disadvan- its share of the economies of large scale produc- 
tages. £j on j n jj^ f orm £ i ower prices. On the con- 

trary, monopolies have made individual fortunes and 
increased the inequality of incomes. A one-cent advance 
in the price of some essential may mean thousands of 
dollars additional profit to the corporation. Furthermore, 
the seeking of favorable legislation or the obstruction of 
restrictive legislation by wealthy corporations has some- 
times had a corrupting influence upon politics. Their 
ruthless methods toward smaller competitors, however, 



The Regulation of Monopoly 267 

have been the most frequent objections to monopolies. 
Often the independent concern has been deliberately forced 
out of business. A great combination has been able to 
keep prices lower, temporarily, in the section where com- 
petition exists, until the independent producer is forced 
to join the combination or to go out of business. Often 
the economic struggle for existence has been as keen as 
that among the lower forms of life where the larger animals 
devour the smaller. 

Political Aspects. — There are four courses open to 
society in dealing with monopoly. The first is that of 
"laissez faire" or "hands off." The earlier Possible 
economists assumed a state of free competition public 

policies. 

which they made the center of their economic 
systems. But neither the assumption of perfect competi- 
tion nor the policy of "laissez faire" can be adopted to-day. 
A second policy which has been tried is that of dissolution. 
Here the results have been far from satisfactory, because, 
while the corporation is legally broken up, the monopoly 
continues under some other form. Some of the devices 
which make this possible have already been described. 
The process of "trust busting" has been compared to an 
attempt to unscramble scrambled eggs. The third alter- 
native open to society is the policy of public ownership 
and operation. The extension of this idea to all forms of 
industry would bring us face to face with socialism. The 
only other alternative in dealing with problems of monopoly 
is the policy of government regulation of industrial com- 
binations. 

The history of government regulation of industry in 
this country is interesting. The movement first began 
with the individual states, some of which passed laws so 



268 Problems of American Democracy 

drastic that they were declared unconstitutional by the 
courts. Moreover, the federal government alone has control 
History of over interstate commerce, and it was seen that 
reg ation: Qn j gu( .j i governmental action could cope with 

Sherman J ° c 

Law. big business which operated in all the individual 

states. Consequently, the Sherman Anti-trust Law was 
passed in 1890. This act made illegal "every contract, 
combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or con- 
spiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the sev- 
eral states, or with foreign nations." It was made crim- 
inal to "monopolize, or attempt- to monopolize, any part 
of the trade or commerce among the several states, or 
with foreign nations." The attempted strength of this 
act was its very weakness. The Sherman Anti-trust Law 
could hardly be called successful because of its sweeping 
indictments against all combinations. Railroad combina- 
tions and labor unions alike would come under its con- 
demnation. The courts have, therefore, found it difficult 
to enforce this law. 

The Clayton Act, passed in 1914, made more definite 

the policy of regulation. It modifies and makes clearer the 

terms of the original Sherman Act, specifically 

Clayton Act. • 1 1 • * • • -i ■ 

exempting labor unions. Again, it prohibits 
one corporation from holding stock in another corporation 
for the purpose of lessening competition. A similar aim 
is sought in the provisions which oppose interlocking direc- 
torates. It is illegal, under certain circumstances, for an 
individual to be a director in a number of large corpor- 
ations. Financial and industrial centralization is opposed. 
Congress also established in 19 14 the Federal Trade Com- 
mission. This body consists of five members appointed by 
the President. So far, it is largely an inquisitorial organiza- 



The Regulation of Monopoly 269 

tion. It can demand reports and investigate the activities 
of corporations which are thought to be violating some of 
the anti-trust provisions. It may make recom- Federal 

Trade Com- 

mendations to the attorney-general and, if mission. 
necessary, aid in the prosecution of offending corporations. 
The final authority over corporations rests in the courts, 
particularly in the United States Supreme Court. That 
body must pass upon the legal status of a given 
holding company, that is, it must decide whether Court 

Decisions. 

the corporation in question is or is not a legal 
monopoly. In 1910 the court ordered the dissolution of 
the Standard Oil Company and the American Tobacco 
Company. It was shown that these combinations had 
developed, through unfair competition, an unreasonable 
restraint of trade. A monopoly existed because of the 
power to limit output and fix prices. Another important 
decision was reached in 1920 regarding the United States 
Steel Corporation. This corporation was not declared 
illegal, because in spite of its size it was held not to be 
a monopoly. 

How can the State best secure to society the gains of 
large scale production? Because the problem presents so 
many different aspects, no generalization can be Other 
attempted. Nevertheless society must have ties, 
some protection against the abuses of monopoly. Several 
courses of action have been already indicated. Germany 
has f rankly recognized monopolies as legitimate and encour- 
aged great selling agencies known as Kartels. For the 
United States federal incorporation has been suggested. 
Uniform and open systems of accounting would also expose 
monopoly practices and profits to the searchlight of public 
opinion. It has been argued further that the Federal Trade 



270 Problems of American Democracy 

Commission should be given additional powers. On the 
other hand, it is contended that too much regulation 
hampers efficiency. As a final weapon there is always the 
possibility of government price-fixing commissions. Our 
war-time experience, however, shows us the difficulty of 
determining not only a fair price, but also a fair rate of 
profits. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Define monopoly and monopoly price. 

2. Show the relation of monopoly to large scale production, and 
to the corporate form of business organization. 

3. What do you understand by the so-called law of supply and 
demand? 

4. Differentiate between an elastic and an inelastic demand. 

5. What is the principle of decreasing cost? 

6. Show the limitations upon monopoly. 

7. Make your own classification of the kinds of monopoly. 

8. Illustrate the different kinds of legal monopolies. 

9. Explain the difference between natural and artificial 
monopolies. 

10. Show how there can be monopolies of labor. 

11. What kind of a monopoly is the trust? Why is it so called? 

12. Sketch the stages in the development of the trusts. 

13. What advantages may a monopoly possess? 

14. Show the disadvantages. 

15. Explain the attitudes that society may assume toward 
monopoly. 

1 6. Give the main features of two federal laws seeking its regulation. 

17. State some recent developments. 

18. What suggestions do you have for the regulation of monopoly? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 



1 . The nature and organization of a holding company. 

2. The history and practices of some great capitalistic monopoly. 

3. The Sherman Anti- trust Law and its effects. 



The Regulation of Monopoly 271 

4. The Clayton Act — ■ its detailed provisions. 

5. The Federal Trade Commission and its work. 

6. Great Supreme Court decisions concerning the trusts. 

7. The advantages of federal incorporation. 

8. An interstate industrial commission. 

9. The platform of the Progressive Party in 191 2. 

REFERENCES 

Burch, H. R. American Economic Life. Chapter XXVII. 
Clay, H. Economics for the General Reader. Chapters VII and VIII. 
Ely, R. T. Outlines of Economics. Chapter XIII. 
Hamilton, W. Current Economic Problems. Chapter IX. 
Meade, E. S. Corporation Finance. 
Tarbell, I. M. History of the Standard Oil Company. 
Van Hise, C. R. Concentration and Control. 

Young, J. T. The New American Government and Its Work. 
Chapters VII and VIII. 



CHAPTER XXII 

Government Control of Transportation 

I. General features 
i . Natural monopoly 

2. Public utility 

3. National control 

II. Development of the railroad 

1. Rapid growth 

2. Characteristics 

3. The evil of discrimination 
III. Regulation of the railroad 

1 . The Interstate Commerce Act 

2. The Interstate Commerce Commission 

3. Results 

4. Effects of the Sherman Act 

5. Later legislation 

6. Government operation during war 

7. Esch- Cummins Act 

8. The Railroad Labor Board 

9. The difficulties of rate-fixing 
IV. Other transportation agencies 

1. Telegraph and telephone 

2. Express companies 

3. Water transportation 

General Features. — Transportation agencies are nat- 
ural monopolies, that is, they are subject ,to the law of 
Natural increasing returns. The railroad is an outstand- 
monopoiy. j n g exam pi e# Profits increase out of all pro- 
portion to the increase in the volume of business. This 



Government Control of Transportation 273 

makes possible the partial utilization of receipts to- 
ward paying for the building of such things as tracks, 
bridges, stations, and rolling stock, rather than for the 
immediate cost of transportation. Competition, which 
means the duplication of equipment, is wasteful. The 
monopolistic character of many transportation agencies was 
not at first recognized by public opinion or by statute law. 
Disastrous competition was frequently encouraged. On 
the other hand, the railroad has often abused its monoply 
power by unfair practices. Because of the principle of 
increasing returns, it has sought increased business so 
eagerly that favors have been shown and discriminations 
made illegally. 

The essential character of transportation service, as well 
as its monopolistic nature, makes it a public utility. Again, 
the early railroads were built partly by govern- p u bii c 
ment aid. Finally, a railroad has the right of utlllt y- 
eminent domain. If an individual does not care to sell his 
property, but if it is necessary for the construction of a 
road, the railroad has the power to seize it and to pay him 
an appraised valuation. For these reasons the railroad and 
most other transportation agencies have been termed quasi- 
public corporations. 

The constitution specifically states that "Congress shall 
have power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and 
among the several states and with the Indian National 
tribes." The absence of this power on the part controL 
of the federal government had been one of the chief defects 
of the Articles of Confederation. Nevertheless, the fathers 
little dreamed of the revolution that was to take place 
in methods of transportation, nor of the importance of this 
simple statement. The courts subsequently interpreted 
s 



274 Problems of American Democracy 

the term commerce in its broadest sense. Chief Justice 
Marshall, who formulated so many important decisions in 
our early history, defined commerce to mean intercourse. 
There has therefore been little dispute concerning the status 
of such later inventions as the telegraph and the telephone. 
Most means of transportation are known legally as com- 
mon carriers. Although the federal government has control 
over interstate commerce, the state has some slight control 
over intrastate commerce. With the industrial expansion 
of the country and the ramification of the great arteries of 
commerce throughout the land, federal jurisdiction has 
become relatively more important and overshadowed that 
of the commonwealth. 

Development of the Railroad. — The perfection of the 
locomotive in England took place about the same time as 
Rapid Fulton's successful invention of the steam boat, 

growth. /p^g ear ij es t railroads in America were small 
affairs designed for horse cars. There has been a tre- 
mendous development from the primitive wood burning 
steam engine to the powerful locomotive of to-day. The 
early carriages were small, open affairs like the stage coach, 
and the speed was slow and uncertain. By the time of the 
Civil War some improvements had been made and about 
thirty thousand miles of track laid. During Grant's admin- 
istration the first trans-continental railroad was built. 
There was a veritable fever of railroad building, and by the 
end of the century there were two hundred thousand miles 
of trackage. The United States leads the nations of the 
world in railroad mileage. The census of 1920 disclosed 
almost three hundred thousand miles. According to recent 
figures of the Interstate Commerce Commission, the labor 
employed in the railroad industry numbers one and a half 



Government Control of Transportation 275 

million persons. The capital invested is estimated at 
twenty billions of dollars. Next to agriculture, rail- 
roading is the greatest single business in the United 
States. 

Railroads took the place of the earlier roads and canals 
in developing the country. The rapid growth of cities and 
the settlement of the West would have been character- 
impossible without them. Time and space have lstlcs - 
been annihilated. It took as long to go from Boston to 



Passenger Car in 1830 — B. & O. R. R. 

Washington in the early days of the Republic as it does 
now to cross the continent. Because of the need for trans- 
portation facilities early railroad building was encouraged 
by the government. The national government gave the 
railroads thousands of acres of the public lands. States 



276 



Problems of American Democracy 



advanced money and granted immunity from taxation. 
Their securities were eagerly bought by both individuals 




Courtesy of New York Central Railroad 
The "De Witt Clinton" Train of 1831 

and governments. This rapid and extensive railroad build- 
ing had its misfortunes. Some roads took a long time to 
show profits, because of the great initial expense and the 




The Largest Locomotive in the World 

time required to develop a heavy volume of traffic in the 
thinly settled sections. Financial failures and reorganiza- 



Government Control of Transportation 277 

tions took place. Meanwhile, the control was gradually 
shifting into the hands of fewer individuals. To-day, the 
railroads can be classified not only geographically but also 
financially. Thus, we speak of the Harriman and Gould 
lines, or of the Vanderbilt and Moore interests. 

The monopolistic development of the railroad, although 
inevitable, was unforeseen. As the railroad grew in size 
and power, the public attitude changed from Tfae 
that of encouragement to one of censure. The of discrimi- 

. -it nation. 

cry of extortionate rates was raised. It was 
also claimed that particular cities and individuals were dis- 
criminated against. A lower charge was sometimes made 
for a longer than for a shorter haul. This happened in 
transportation between two seaports, where there was com- 
petition with cheap water transportation. Again, dis- 
criminations were made concerning different commodities. 
Thus, Minneapolis claimed it was so much cheaper to 
send wheat to the Atlantic Coast for export than flour that 
her milling business was in danger of ruin. Finally, dis- 
criminations were practiced against individuals. A large 
shipper was granted a cheaper rate than a smaller shipper 
for the same service. An unpleasant connection was 
shown between railroad discriminations and the growth of 
certain trusts. The monopoly power of the railroads was 
felt to have such a powerful effect upon the fortunes of 
men and the fate of communities that the demand for 
government regulation became imperative. 

Regulation of the Railroad. — In 1887 was passed the 
famous Interstate Commerce Act, which represents the 
first attempt to deal comprehensively with the whole prob- 
lem of national transportation. It contained the following 
main provisions: (1) unreasonable or extortionate rates 



278 Problems of American Democracy 

were prohibited; (2) discriminations between persons, 
places, and commodities were made illegal; (3) fares and 
The rates were to be made public; (4) common 

Commerce carriers were not to charge more for a shorter 
Act - than for a longer distance under the same 

conditions of transportation; (5) pooling transactions 
between railroads were forbidden. 

For the enforcement of the above provisions a commis- 
sion was created which is known as the Interstate Com- 
merce Commission. It originally consisted of five members, 
appointed by the President with the consent 
interstate of the Senate. The number of commissioners 

Commerce 

Commis- was later increased to seven, and the term of 
office fixed at seven years. Its original powers 
were merely those of investigation. Where discriminations 
were found to exist, the commission was to bring suit 
against the railroad through the usual channel of the courts.. 
Since the time of its creation the scope and powers of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission have gradually widened. 
It has become the central governing body for the regula- 
tion of all interstate commerce. 

The results of the Interstate Commerce Act were more 

apparent in the matter of preventing discrimination than 

in preventing virtual "pooling." The publica- 

A.6SUltS« • r t 

tion of the rates and the short and long haul 
clause of the new law helped to prevent discriminations 
between persons and places, but the prohibition of "pool- 
ing" was difficult to enforce. The true monopoly char- 
acter of the railroad had not been discerned at that time. 
It was not seen that it was both impossible and undesir- 
able to try to restore competition between railroads. There- 
fore, when the attempt was made, the inevitable hap- 



Government Control of Transportation 279 

pened. When deprived of the privilege of "pooling," the 
roads were forced into combination. Financial wrecks 
and reorganizations took place, out of which arose fewer 
and greater systems by the process of consolidation. 

The Sherman Anti- trust Act of 1890 marks the next 
step in the history of railroad regulation. Many of the 
combinations which had been effected were 
declared illegal. In 1897 the Supreme Court f t h C e s 
declared against associations for the purpose of fct e . rman 
rate-making. In 1904 it ordered the dissolu- 
tion of the Northern Securities Company, which was a 
holding company designed to unite the Great Northern, 
the Northern Pacific, and the Burlington systems. In 
191 2 the court dissolved the merger of the Union Pacific 
and the Southern Pacific Railroads, because the former 
company held forty-six per cent of the stock of the latter 
company. It is safe to say that the true monopolistic 
character of the railroad was not seen until the advent of 
the World War. 

The Elkins Act of 1903 increased the effectiveness of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission by giving it additional 
powers. Corporations, as well as their agents, Later legis- 
were now liable to prosecution. Again, the latlon - 
Hepburn Act of 1906 permitted the Commission to revise 
rates. Before this time, it could merely rule that a given 
rate was unfair. Now it had the power definitely to fix 
a maximum rate. Again, its authority was extended to 
all companies doing an interstate business, including pipe- 
lines. The later Act of 1910 created a special Commerce 
Court in which railroad cases might be tried. However, 
this experience was not successful and the court was abol- 
ished in 1 9 13. The Adamson Act of 19 16 dealt especially 



280 Problems of American Democracy 

with problems of wages and working conditions in the rail- 
road industry. At that time the railroad brotherhoods 
were threatening to strike and to hold up the transporta- 
tion facilities of the entire nation. Such a situation was 
antagonistic to the welfare of the whole American nation. 

Behind the great mass of railroad legislation of the 
twentieth century may be observed the steady advance of 
the principle of government regulation and the 
mentTpera- gradual recognition of the monopoly character 
war. durmg °f the railroads. These tendencies were hast- 
ened by the World War, when it was imperative 
to establish a unified control over the chief transportation 
agencies of the country. On January first, 1918, the 
President declared the railroads of the nation to be under 
the operation of the government. This was continued for 
twenty-six months under a Director General of the Rail- 
roads. Similar governmental control was exercised over 
the telegraph and telephone lines. Such measures played 
an important part in winning the war. Prompt action 
was necessary to insure the transportation of troops and 
war materials in the most direct and systematic fashion. 
Government operation of the railroads, however, was 
purely a war measure and its success must be judged 
accordingly. The needs of such a critical period were so 
abnormal that the experiment proved neither the advan- 
tages nor the disadvantages of general government oper- 
ation of public utilities. 

With the cessation of hostilities came the question of 
the future of the railroads. While some writers made a 
plea for the continuation of government operation, with the 
ultimate aim of government ownership, others were equally 
insistent in demanding that the roads be turned back 



• Government Control of Transportation 281 

immediately to their owners. A third scheme, called the 
Plumb Plan, proposed the control of the railroads by the 
workers. Finally, the Esch-Cummins Act was 
passed, and the roads were returned to private Cummins 
ownership on March first, 1920. This was an 
exceedingly important piece of railroad legislation. The 
equipment and rolling stock of the roads had not been 
kept up during the war by any replacement fund. Hence, 
the new legislation provided for a credit fund of three 
hundred million dollars. It also planned for the ultimate 
consolidation of the railroads into a few definite systems. 
In the third place, the Railroad Labor Board was created. 
The powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission were 
strengthened, so that it could decide what were fair rates 
and profits. For the first two years of private control, 
the act defined a fair return on the investment to be five 
and a half per cent. An additional one-half per cent was 
allowed for permanent improvements. The principle of 
profit-sharing was also introduced, for it was provided that 
any excess over six per cent should be divided between the 
corporation and the government. The present status of 
the railroads is thus private ownership and operation, with 
almost complete governmental regulation. 

The Railroad Labor Board is composed of nine members 
representing equally the workers, the managers, and the 
public. They are appointed by the President, 
with the approval of the Senate, from lists of road Labor 

^ ' Board. 

six names each. The workers and the managers 
prepare their own lists of candidates. The Board investi- 
gates and reports upon working conditions and wages in 
the railroad industry. It is hoped that such a conciliatory 
body will be able to reconcile the interests of capital and 



282 Problems of American Democracy 

labor with each other and with the best interests of the 
general public. 

Thus, the railroad problem is of vital interest to the 
employee, to the owners of railroad securities, and to 
Th d'ffi t ^ ie P u ^^ c - The railroad makes possible geo- 
cuities of graphical division of labor, and secures to a 

rate-fixing. . . 

nation its greatest volume of production. The 
limiting force is the cost of transportation, which is con- 
stantly balancing the gains of geographical division of labor. 
Freight charges are a considerable element in the cost of 
living. On the other hand, it is equally important that 
these quasi-public corporations pay a fair rate of profit to 
the owners of their securities. The fixing of fair railroad 
charges is a difficult matter because of the nature of the 
railroad business which operates upon the principle of 
increasing returns. A fair rate of profit is equally hard 
to determine. In fixing the rate, several factors must be 
considered. Shall it be uniform throughout the country, 
or should it vary with the different roads according to the 
volume of business and the cost of construction? A recent 
increase in freight rates made such a geographical distinc- 
tion. Again, shall a fair rate of profit be computed upon a 
valuation of the railroad, or shall the reverse process be 
adopted? The capitalization of the railroad itself cannot 
be accepted as a correct valuation because of the evil of 
overcapitalization. The Interstate Commerce Commission 
found it necessary to attempt a physical valuation of the 
railroads and their tangible assets. 

Other Transportation Agencies. — The railroad is the 
chief transportation agency and typifies the general problem 
of governmental regulation. Other common carriers are the 
telegraph and telephone. Before the Civil War, telegraph 



Government Control of Transportation 283 

lines had been constructed along the chief railroads. In 
the last quarter of the nineteenth century, came Bell's 
invention of the telephone. At first it seemed Telegraph 

and 

adapted only for short distances, but it is now telephone, 
possible to talk across the continent. Nevertheless, for long 
distances, it is still more economical to use the telegraph. 

The carrying of the mails is a long-recognized public 
function, but this is not true of the transportation of small 
packages. Indeed, only recently has the govern- Express 
ment established a parcels post. The express com P anies 
business had been left to private initiative. Express com- 
panies grew in size and power with the development of 
the railroads, with which a close connection was maintained. 
Monopolistic tendencies were displayed by such usual 
symptoms as price-fixing. Although the great companies 
remained separate, they divided the country among them- 
selves to avoid the wastes of competition. As their rates 
became higher, the demand for a parcels post increased. 
In spite of the opposition of the private companies, such a 
law was passed in 19 13. The comparative rates of the par- 
cels post were so low, that, in the following year, one great 
express company was forced out of business. 

The possibilities of our waterways were overlooked in 
the era of railroad building. The earlier canals fell into 
disuse, until the increasing freight rates called 
attention to the cheaper method of transpor- transpor- 

. ^ tation. 

tation by water. Railroads and waterways 
should form cooperating, rather than competing systems, for 
each can supplement the other. Railroads can be used for 
transporting valuable and perishable goods, while the cheap 
and bulky commodities can be left for water transportation. 
It will be remembered that the natural resources of America 



284 Problems of American Democracy 

are rich in water possibilities. The internal and coastwise 
shipping of the United States is restricted to American ships, 
but before the World War the American flag had almost dis- 
appeared from the high seas. European demands during 
the great conflict created a merchant marine, and it remains 
to be seen what part it will play in future international 
trade. During the war a large number of ships were built 
in an incredibly short time, but at an enormous expense 
to the government. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Explain the principle of increasing returns in connection with 
the railroad. 

2. Give some of its effects. 

3 . Explain and illustrate the meaning of quasi-public corporations . 

4. Give the reasons why the railroads should be so classified. 

5. Explain the term "eminent domain." 

6. Why does the federal government have control over inter- 
state commerce? 

7. What interpretation has been put upon the term "commerce"? 

8. Show the rapid increase of railroads in the United States. 

9. Show their present size and importance. 

10. How did the government foster early railroad building? Why? 

1 1 . Explain and illustrate the various types of railroad discrimi- 
nations. 

12. Give the leading provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act 
and its effects. 

13. Show the effects of the Sherman Anti-trust Law upon the 
railroads. 

14. Name and give the important feature of several pieces of 
railroad legislation from 1890 to 1920. 

15. How did government operation of the railroads succeed 
during the war? 

16. When and under what provisions were they returned to their 

woners? 



Government Control of Transportation 285 

17. Why are just railroad rates both important and difficult to 
determine? 

18. Show the importance of some other transportation agencies. 

19. Show the relation of water transportation to rail transportation. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The railroad as a monopoly. 

2. The history and powers of the Interstate Commerce Com- 
mission. 

3. Railroad regulation from the Sherman to the Adamson Acts. 

4. Government operation during the war. 

5. Advantages and disadvantages of nationalization of railroads. 

6. The Esch-Cummins Act — its detailed provisions. 

7. The Railroad Labor Board — its work and functions. 

8. Railroad valuation and rate-fixing. 

9. Government versus private ownership of railroads. 
10. How railroads are operated in Europe. 

REFERENCES 

Burch, H. R. American Economic Life. Chapters XXIX and XXX 
Carver, T. N. Principles of Political Economy. Chapter XIX. 
Ely, R. T. Outlines of Economics. Chapter XXVII. 
Hamilton, W. Current Economic Problems. Chapter VIII. 
Johnson, E. R. American Railway Transportation. 
Johnson, E. R. and Huebner, G. G. Railway Traffic and Rates. 
Reports of Interstate Commerce Commission^ 
Smith, J. R. The Ocean Carrier. 

Young, J. T. The New American Government and Its Work. Chap- 
ter VI. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

Regulation of International Trade 

I. Fundamental principles 

i . Geographical division of labor 

2. The mode of payment 

3 . The complicated process 
II. The tariff problem 

i. Gains of free trade 

2. Infant industries 

3. The home market 

4. Work and wages 

5. National self-support 

6. World tendencies 

III. Tariff policies in America 

1 . The early period 

2. Results of the Civil War 

3. Recent legislation 

4. The tariff in politics 

5. The Tariff Commission 

IV. The expansion of American commerce 

1 . Its character 

2. Recent changes 

3. Effects of the World War: 

a. On exports 

b. Rate of exchange 

4. The outlook 

Fundamental Principles. — Improved methods of 
transportation, such as the locomotive and the steamboat, 

286 



Regulation of International Trade 287 

widen the scope of foreign as well as of domestic commerce. 
Monopoly, large scale production, and the corporation are 
world phenomena which have affected the Geograph- 
development of trade relationships. The Indus- ^ n ^J 1 ' 
trial Revolution intensified geographical division labor - 
of labor and resulted in the expansion of international 
commerce. England was the first nation to experience this 
great industrial adjustment, which later appeared upon the 
continent of Europe and in America. At the present time 
the Industrial Revolution is at work in Japan. This 
movement profoundly alters the volume and character 
of foreign trade. The State ceases to be economically self- 
sufficient and becomes more specialized. The exports of 
manufactured articles tend to increase, as well as the 
importation of foods and raw materials. Without the 
Industrial Revolution, however, geographical division of 
labor could still be observed. The climatic differences 
throughout the world make it impossible for any one nation 
to produce all the necessities and comforts of modern life. 
Thus, the nations of the North exchange their furs for the 
coffee of the tropics. 

Just as there has been developed no commonly accepted 
international language, so there is as yet no unified inter- 
national currency. Nevertheless, gold is the The mode 
standard of value for all foreign trade, and the of P a y ment - 
unit of measurement commonly used is the English pound. 
International drafts are generally drawn upon some well 
known London bank, for that city is the commercial and 
financial center of the world. It is very important, how- 
ever, that the student look behind such mere paper trans- 
actions. In the final analysis goods are paid for with goods. 
A nation will not go on exporting commodities unless it 



2 88 



Problems of American Democracy 



expects to get other goods in return. In the long run, the 
imports tend to balance the exports. The temporary dif- 




Ewing Galloway 



The World's Market Place — New York City 



ference between the two is known as the balance of trade. 
An excess of exports is known as a favorable balance of 



Regulation of International Trade 



>Sq 




290 Problems of American Democracy 

trade. It is generally cancelled by a shipment of gold. 
It was formerly thought to be a very desirable thing for a 
nation to have an excess of exports, and a compensating 
stream of gold flowing into the country. Experience, how- 
ever, has shown that the favored country may suffer from 
high prices, partially caused by the increased amount of 
gold. 

Th'e exchange of goods which we call international trade 

may not take place directly between two nations. Thus, 

the United States may send pork to France, 

caied which exports wine to England, which exports 

process. . 

cloth to Brazil, which in turn sends coffee to the 
United States. When international accounts are balanced 
the American pork is paid for with Brazilian coffee, just 
as the English cloth is paid for with French wine. The 
shipping of gold is reduced to a minimum by the use of 
credit instruments such as the draft. London has been a 
world's clearing house in which are balanced the total 
imports against the total exports of a nation. The great 
majority of debts are paid by an exchange of paper, but the 
final difference between exports and imports is settled by 
a shipment of gold. 

The Tariff Problem. — Free trade is a frank recognition 
of the gains of geographical division of labor. It is a direct 
Gains of application of the law of comparative costs, by 
free trade. w } u , cn Q^oh. nation tends to export those things 
which it can produce most effectively and to import those 
things which it can produce least effectively. Tariffs are 
barriers raised by the various nations against the free flow 
of international trade. They attempt to make political 
boundaries economic boundaries also. Within a nation the 
gains of geographical division of labor are unquestioned. 



Regulation of International Trade 291 

Thus, the alarm clocks of Connecticut are freely exchanged 
for the oranges of Florida. It would be possible to build 
clock factories in Florida and make the state independent 
to that extent of Yankee ingenuity. Vast green-houses 
could be built and maintained at considerable expense in 
Connecticut, in order that the New England business man 
could have the satisfaction of eating home-grown oranges. 
The absurdity of such economic waste is apparent. Within 
our nation state lines offer no obstacles to the free flow of 
domestic commerce. Nature recognizes no such artificial 
barrier as a tariff, and the forests of Oregon and Washing- 
ton continue across the Canadian border. The same is 
true of the wheat lands. In the early days of the Republic, 
individual states attempted to raise tariff walls against 
each other. This became a glaring evil under the Articles 
of Confederation, when New York and New Jersey 
attempted such discrimination. The new Constitution, 
therefore, gave to the federal government control over 
both interstate and foreign commerce. 

A number of considerations have prevented the exten- 
sion of free trade from a national to an international basis. 
Perhaps the best defense of protection is found infant 
in the infant industry argument, which appeared industnes - 
early in American history. It was argued, for illustration, 
that America had as good natural resources as England 
for the production of iron. Nevertheless, so long as the 
cheap foreign product came into the country the native 
product could not be developed. Home production in this 
field could not succeed because it was impossible for an 
infant to struggle against the strength of maturity. But 
if a tariff were imposed, the native industry could develop. 
Under such governmental protection, it could pass from 



292 Problems of American Democracy 

infancy to maturity and finally stand upon its own feet. 
The industry could then meet foreign competition without 
the artificial protection of the tariff. The question then 
arises as to the length of the period of infancy. A leading 
authority upon the tariff suggests that thirty years of 
protection is a sufficiently long trial period to demon- 
strate whether an industry is capable of maintaining itself 
against foreign competition. At the end of such a period, 
however, the " vested interests" cry is often raised when 
an attempt is made to abolish the protection. Again, it is 
contended that a successful industry is loathe to admit 
that it has reached the stage of economic independence. 
Higher prices and profits may be enjoyed at home by the 
trusts, which can undersell their foreign competitors in 
the Old World markets. 

The home market argument for protection asserts that 
the introduction of new industries will not curtail the pro- 
The home duction of raw materials within a nation. The 
market. demand of mill workers for food is an illustration 
of how the farmer will find a new home market for his 
products. It must be remembered, however, that there 
is no creation of an additional market, but merely the 
substitution of an increased home market for a decreased 
foreign market. Goods are exchanged for goods. If less 
manufactured goods are imported because of the home 
industries, comparatively fewer raw materials will be 
exported. 

The "full-dinner pail" has also been used as a cam- 
paign slogan by the party seeking election upon the issue 
Work and of the tariff. It is claimed that the tariff meas- 
wages. ures £ ne difference in the wages paid European 

and American workmen. The tariff thus protects our 



Regulation of International Trade 293 

workers against the competition of cheap foreign labor. 
It is further contended that the protected industries fur- 
nish additional employment. However, opponents of the 
tariff assert, by a similar line of reasoning, that no additional 
employment has been created, but that the process is 
merely one of substitution. Employment in the pro- 
tected industries has grown at the expense of the unpro- 
tected. Does the tariff raise wages? Theoretically, real 
wages should be highest when a nation is turning its pro- 
ductive energies into the most effective kinds of labor, as 
determined by the gains of geographical division of labor. 
It is also objected that protection raises the general cost 
of living for all workers, although wages may be high in 
some strongly protected industries. 

The national self-sustaining plea is another strong argu- 
ment for protection. A nation is safer, freer, and more 
independent when it enjoys diversified indus- 
tries. Over-specialization may spell unemploy- seif- 
ment to a community as well as to an individual. 
Ireland and India have suffered great hardships because 
they have been largely agricultural nations operating under 
the one-crop system. On the other hand, over-indus- 
trialization may be equally dangerous because of the pos- 
sibilities of unemployment. Unlike the precarious foreign 
market, the home market is subject to political control 
and hence is more stable. England is an illustration of an 
industrial nation which is dependent upon foreign markets 
for both imports and exports. War makes the situation 
more acute. If, during the World War, Great Britain had 
not had control of the seas, she could have been starved 
into submission within a few weeks. Again, it was found 
that the manufacture of optical glass needed immediately 



294 Problems of A merican Democracy 

for artillery sights was a German industry. Hence, a 
special government report placed much emphasis upon 
what are known as key industries. Thus, there has been 
found to be a close relationship between the manufacture 
of dye-stuffs and the production of explosives. As long 
as war continues, there must be economic as well as mili- 
tary preparedness. Armaments and tariffs go together. 
The political unification of Germany was preceded by the 
Zollverein or customs union among the various states. 
The French Revolution abolished the internal customs 
line and created a new national consciousness. Free trade 
is an ally of internationalism. 

In the middle of the last century it appeared for a time 
as if the principle of free trade would triumph. England 
World had repealed the corn laws which taxed the 

tendencies. i m p 0r t a ti n of foodstuffs. Secure in her com- 
mercial and industrial supremacy, she was leading the 
world to free trade. America was following the principle 
of a tariff for revenue only, more than ever before in her 
history. Events, however, soon shaped themselves other- 
wise. The Civil War created an unprecedented need for 
increased revenue. Out of the struggle came a high pro- 
tective tariff, which continued indefinitely after the war 
was over. With the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the 
unification of Germany was completed. Under the lead 
of the Iron Chancellor, Bismarck, a series of protective 
measures was passed and German manufacture grew apace. 
In a tariff war, other nations are forced to retaliate. 
Toward the close of the century, therefore, France fol- 
lowed with two important protectionist measures which, 
however, provided for reciprocity. Although Great 
Britain was forced to face new competition from both 



Regulation of International Trade 295 

Germany and America, she clung tenaciously to her policy 
of free trade. Some of her statesmen, however, began to 
question the wisdom of such a lone course, for Canada and 
other British colonies had passed tariff legislation. Con- 
siderable agitation was developed for some system of 
imperial preferences, which would give the advantage to 
commerce within the British Empire. The World War 
has also intensified the feeling toward closer economic 
relationships between the mother country and the self- 
governing colonies. 

Tariff Policies in America.— The Revolutionary War 
did not mark such an immediate turning point in American 
industrial development as it did in our political The early 
history. To be sure, there had grown up a few peno ' 
native manufactures and, at the outset, Alexander Hamilton 
had proposed a policy of protection. Nevertheless, our 
early exports were almost entirely raw materials and 
America, like most other western nations, was dependent 
upon England for her manufactured articles. The Napo- 
leonic Wars created a temporary interruption in this free 
interchange of goods. The Embargo and Non-Intercourse 
Acts of Jefferson's administration were followed by the 
War of 181 2. It was at this time that the infant industries 
of America were born. For illustration, it was then that 
the maufacture of cotton cloth grew rapidly in New Eng- 
land. With the close of the great European struggle, our 
growing manufactures were threatened with a flood of 
goods from Europe. Considerable protectionist sentiment 
was developed, and some tariff measures were passed in 
the period from 18 19-1824. The South, which was largely 
agricultural, objected strenuously to such increases in the 
cost of living. The climax was reached in the famous 



296' Problems of American Democracy 

" Tariff of Abominations." Nullification and secession 
were threatened by South Carolina, but checked by the 
vigorous action of President Jackson. Lower rates were 
introduced in later bills up to the middle of the century. 

The tariff as Americans understand it to-day dates from 
the time of the Civil War. The financial needs of the 
Results of emer g enc y increased the rates of internal 
the Civil revenue. It was necessary to raise the tariff 
rates accordingly. This is known as the prin- 
ciple of compensation. The Morrill Act of 186 1 was followed 
by other and higher tariffs as the war dragged on. By 1869 
the average tariff rate had been raised almost fifty per cent 
over that of 1857. It was not expected at that time that 
this new level would be permanent, but the end of the war 
brought no reduction. The high internal revenue rates 
were removed, but all attempts to lower the tariff were 
unsuccessful. Indeed, in some cases the rates were raised. 
The Republican party which had brought to a successful 
conclusion the struggle for the preservation of the Union 
continued in power and made protection one of its principle 
issues. The high water mark was reached in the McKinley 
Act, which was passed in the administration of President 
Harrison. The principle of protection was enforced even 
at the expense of revenue. For illustration, a duty of two 
cents a pound upon sugar was removed, but a bonus of 
two cents a pound was placed upon sugar produced within 
the country. 

The Democratic victory under Cleveland meant an 
attempt to lower the tariff. The Wilson Bill was passed, 
Recent but the President let it become law without 

legislation. ^ s jg na ture because of his dissatisfaction with 
its general character. The rate was lowered to about the 



Regulation of International Trade 297 

general level prevailing before the passage of the McKinley 
Bill. The business depression of that period, however, 
told against the party in power. With the return of the 
Republican party came the Dingley Act which restored 
the high level of rates provided for in the McKinley Act. 
The prosperity of the period was immediately attributed 
to protection, and for a decade the tariff question lay 
dormant. Other new forces, such as monopoly and the 
high cost of living, came into the fore ground. It was 
vaguely felt that the tariff had some causal relationship 
to prosperity. Although the Republicans continued in 
power, a downward revision of the tariff was promised. The 
Payne-Aldrich Act of Taft's administration was supposed 
to be a step in this direction. But, although it lowered 
some duties, it raised others and thus maintained nearly 
the old level. A special session of Congress, called by 
Woodrow Wilson, resulted in the passage of the Underwood 
Tariff Act in 19 13. It was a frank attempt to lower the 
duties. Wool and iron, for example, were put upon the free 
list. The advocates of protection predicted national dis- 
aster, but the outbreak of the World War prevented a 
normal trial of the new tariff. Since 19 14, the entire in- 
ternational situation has been altered. 

Such a brief sketch has sufficed to show how the tariff 
has been made the foot ball of political parties. It has 
loomed large before the minds of the American The tariff 
people, who have attempted to explain various in P° lltics - 
economic phenonena from this standpoint. One side has 
attributed prosperity to it; the other, the trusts. The 
truth will be found in neither extreme. Professor Taussig, 
who is the leading student of the tariff in America, feels that 
its effect upon our industries has been somewhat exagger- 



298 Problems of American Democracy 

ated. The factor most disturbing to business is constant 
change. "The tariff — alocalissue" was found by Hancock to 
be a most unfortunate political slogan. Nevertheless, such 
is often the case. The economic organization of our country 
is complex, and each community or citizen seeks protection 
for its own product, but desires to buy all others at the 
cheapest price. Consequently, a tariff bill is fearfully and 
wonderfully made. It is arrived at after a long and tor- 
tuous process of compromising. Here the evil of log-rolling 
appears at its worst. 

In order to take the tariff out of politics the Tariff Com- 
mission has come into existence. Such a body was author- 
ized by Congress in 19 16. It is bipartisan and 
Commis- consists of six members, appointed by the Presi- 

sion. 

dent, not more than three of whom belong to the 
same political party. The function of the Commission 
is that of investigation. Its purpose is to make a scien- 
tific and economic study of the effects of various tariff 
schedules and rates upon the industries affected. Such 
material is furnished to the President and to the appro- 
priate committees of Congress when requested. One 
important phase of the work is the study of international 
tariff relationships and of the possibilities of reciprocity. 
The Expansion of American Commerce. — American 
foreign commerce is relatively less important than that of 
Its many European nations. Before the World 

character. ^ ar ^ p er capita value of the imports of Great 
Britain was four times as great as our own, and the exports 
twice as great. America is very nearly economically self- 
sufficient and practices great geographical divisions of 
labor within the nation. Our imports consist largely of 
such things as sugar, coffee, drugs, silks, rubber, and some 



Regulation of International Trade 



299 




£ 



300 Problems of American Democracy 

manufactured articles. Chief among our exports are 
breadstuffs, cotton, cotton cloth, copper, oil, iron, steel, 
and agricultural machinery. 

The results of high protection can be seen in the changed 
character of our exports since the Civil War. Among the 
Recent goods exported manufactures have increased, 

c anges. an( j raw ma terials have held a relatively less 
important place. Before the World War the exports of 
manufactured articles had exceeded the imports. This 
fact led some writers to maintain that America no longer 
needed protection. In the second place, the total volume 
of foreign trade has increased rapidly. From the Civil War 
to the close of the century, the annual value of the exports 
increased from less than a half billion dollars to over a 
billion dollars. Imports increased rapidly, but not to the 
same extent as the exports. Throughout most of our 
early history imports had exceeded exports. As is the 
case with new countries, this represented mainly the 
importation of foreign capital for the development of 
natural resources. Within a score of years after the Civil 
War, the value of the exports passed that of the imports. 
Up to 1920 there was a steady increase in the favor- 
able balance of trade. Between 1906 and 19 10, for exam- 
ple, the annual value of our imports averaged one and a 
half billion dollars and our exports almost two billions. 
Before the outbreak of the World War the United States 
was well on its way toward becoming a great exporting 
nation. 

The World War caused an unprecedented increase in 
our exports. From 1910 to 1919 the annual value of our 
exports to Europe increased from one and three-quarters of 
a billion dollars to more than seven billion dollars, while 



Regulation of International Trade 301 

the value of our imports increased from one and a half 
billion dollars to only three billion dollars. Thus, our so- 
called favorable balance of trade increased to four Effects of 
billions of dollars. Although a steady stream World War: 
of gold came from Europe to America, there 
was not nearly enough of the precious metal to cover such 
a difference between the value of imports and exports. 
The war-stricken nations of Europe needed supplies, and 
their governments floated huge loans in this country. 
When America entered the conflict, a further extension of 
credit was granted by the federal government. The 
United States became Europe's creditor to the extent of 
some ten billions of dollars. 

Another effect of the war was the breaking down of the 
mechanism of foreign exchange. Ordinarily an English 
pound is worth about four dollars and eighty- Rate of 
six cents in American money, but for a time its exc ange ' 
value fell to considerably less than four dollars. The 
French franc, ordinarily worth twenty cents, exchanged 
for five cents. The rates of exchange for the Central 
Powers were still lower. This breakdown of the mecha- 
nism of international exchange was due not only to the one- 
way flow of goods from America to Europe, but also to the 
depreciation of European currency. Gold is the inter- 
national standard of value, and America was one of the 
few nations whose currency was actually maintained on a 
gold basis. 

War-stricken Europe for many years to come needs 
American goods for reconstruction. Nevertheless, a high 
rate of exchange makes their purchase in Amer- The 
ica very expensive. Again, the method of pay- out 00 ' 
ment is dubious. The United States is flooded with 



302 Problems of American Democracy 

European promises to pay, and a further extension of 
credit seems undesirable. Statesmen and students are try- 
ing to decide how the debt already in existence can be paid. 
It is the consensus of opinion that such an enormous obli- 
gation can only be gradually repaid by a flow of goods from 
Europe to America in excess of our exports to Europe. 
Business men, however, are very anxious about the con- 
tinued effect of an unfavorable balance of trade upon our 
native industries. When once European nations are ready 
to export, America may anticipate a steady flow of foreign 
goods into the country. The destruction of home indus- 
tries is felt by many to be a worse evil than the possible 
failure to collect the European debt. With the Republican 
party in power, however, a protective tariff seems assured. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

i . Show how payments are made in international trade. 

2. What is a favorable balance of trade? Is it an unmixed 
blessing? 

3. Review the gains of geographical division of labor. 

4. Show the relation of free trade to those advantages. 

5. Explain and criticize the infant industry argument for pro- 
tection. 

6. Do the same for the home market argument. 

7. Does the tariff raise wages and create additional employment? 

8. What are the advantages to a nation of being economically 
self-sufficient in peace times as well as in war? 

9. Show the recent world tendencies toward protection. 

10. Discuss protection in America before the Civil War. 

1 1 . Show the effect of the Civil War upon the tariff. 

12. Outline the course of protection since that time. 

13. Show the evil effects of the tariff in politics. 

14. Explain the purpose, composition, ' and functions of the 
Tariff Commission. 



Regulation of International Trade 303 

15. Contrast the foreign commerce of the United States with that 
of England. 

16. Show the changes in our foreign commerce that have taken 
place between the Civil War and the World War. 

17. Enumerate the chief effects of the World War upon our foreign 
commerce. 

18. What present problems of international trade has the World 
War created? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The mechanism of foreign trade, e. g., trace how a cotton 
planter sends his goods to Liverpool and receives payment by draft. 

2. Make out a complete case for free trade. 

3. Make out a case for the tariff, using all possible arguments 
for protection. 

4. The history of protection before the Civil War. 

5. The tariff since the Civil War. 

6. Free trade in Great Britain. 

7. Protection and German industrial progress. 

8. The World War and the collapse of foreign exchange rates. 

9. The present problem of foreign trade. 

10. The advantages of protection to the United States. 

REFERENCES 

Clay, H. Economics for the General Reader. Chapter XL 
Cunningham. The Rise and Fall of Free Trade. 
Ely, R. T. Outlines of Economics. Chapters XVII and XVIII. 
Hamilton, W. Current Economic Problems. Chapter VII. 
Marshall, Wright, and Field., Materials for the Study of Ele- 
mentary Economics. Chapters XII and XIII. 
Taussig, F. W. The Tariff History of the United States. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

National Regulation of the Currency 

I. The nature of money 
i. Barter 

2. Early forms of money 

3. Characteristics 

4. Functions of money 

5. Relation to prices 

6. Inflation 

7. Kinds of money in the United States: 

a. Metallic 

b. Paper 

II. Our monetary standard 

1 . The gold standard in Europe 

2. Bimetallism in the United States 

3. The present gold standard 
III. Our banking system 

1. The National Bank Act 

2. The Federal Reserve Act : 

a. Provisions 

b. Operation 

3. State institutions 

The Nature of Money. — The earliest form of com- 
merce is a direct exchange of goods for goods, which is 
known as barter. In the absence of money, our 

Barter. . 

early settlers exchanged their knives and beads 
for the furs of the Indians. Herodotus gives an interesting 

304 



National Regulation of the Currency 305 

description of how the early Carthaginian traders placed 
their wares upon the seashore of that strange land beyond 
the Pillars of Hercules, and later collected in exchange 
what the natives had left there. 

With the growth of commerce the disadvantages of barter 
became evident. Some object of general acceptability came 
to be used as a medium of exchange. In early 
Virginia it was tobacco. Tradition has it that forms of 

ii r i money. 

wives were once secured by a payment of the 
cost of passage in that commodity. Wampum and pelts 
were used by the Indians and copied by the early settlers 
as media of exchange. In one part of Africa salt served 
this purpose and, in another part of the same continent, 
wealth is still measured in terms of cattle. Because of 
their value and durability, the precious metals have been 
commonly accepted as money. In primitive societies the 
metal is used in bulk. Thus, the gold dust of the mining 
community was exchanged for tobacco and groceries. 
Shekels, talents, pounds, and other early monetary units 
were attempts to get a standard measurement by weight. 
Minting became a recognized function of the State, and 
coins are as old as civilization. The image of Caesar was 
carried by the commerce of Rome throughout the known 
world. At first merely the head of the sovereign was 
stamped upon one side of a flat disk of metal. In order to 
prevent chipping, the other side came to be stamped and 
the edges milled. With the development of credit, paper 
money has come to be a most important part of the currency. 
The coinage of money has become a government monopoly 
in all advanced nations, because this has been found to 
be the only method of maintaining a stabilized monetary 
system. 



306 Problems of American Democracy 

In order that a commodity may be used successfully as 
money it must have general acceptibility. Hence, it must 
Character- have value. A bulky commodity is difficult 
istics. tQ carr y m su fi c i e nt amounts. With the iron 

money of Lycurgus, the Spartan citizen was forced to use 
an ox cart in order to pay a debt. Furthermore, in deter- 
mining the availability of a commodity as money, its 
stability of value must be taken into consideration. Dura- 
bility and divisibility are also important, and it is essen- 
tial that the value of the commodity used be easily recog- 
nized. Precious stones lack the latter characteristics. 

The two great functions of money are to serve (i) as a 
medium of exchange and (2) as a standard of value. Barter 
Functions may be unsuccessful because neither trader may 
of money. (j es i re the commodities of the other. It is neces- 
sary to wait until two traders come together with mutually 
desired articles. Such a situation in the exchange of goods 
can be avoided only by the use of some commonly accepted 
commodity of known value, which also constitutes a med- 
ium of exchange. Again, barter is disadvantageous because 
one trader may not know the value of his goods in terms 
of that of the other's. Some commodity, the value of 
which is universally understood, must serve as the foot 
rule of measurement, that is, as a standard of value. Money 
is such a standard of value and becomes the great common 
denominator of wealth. 

It has been observed that value is "the power of a good 
to command other goods in exchange for itself." Price is 
„ , . merely this value expressed in terms of money. 

Relation j x 

to It is the ratio between the value of the goods 

and the value of the monetary unit. If the 

amount of money in a country remains constant and 



National Regulation of the Currency 307 

if there is an increased productivity of goods, prices 
fall, but, if, when money remains constant, there is 
decreased productivity, prices rise. If, on the other hand, 
the quantity of goods remains constant and the quan- 
tity of money increases, prices rise. In America, at the 
opening of the twentieth century, prices were rising. This 
phenonemen showed itself before the World War when the 
production of gold was going on more rapidly than that of 
other commodities. The war brought still stronger proof 
to America of the causal relationship between prices and 
the quantity of money. From July 1, 19 14, to December 
31, 1918, the value of gold imported into the United States 
amounted to a little less than two billion dollars, while the 
amount of gold exported amounted to less than one billion 
dollars. Thus, our total amount of gold was increased by 
about a billion. There was also a tremendous increase in 
paper money in the form of Federal Reserve notes. On the 
other hand, vast quantities of goods were being exported 
to Europe. If we regard price as a fraction, the denominator 
representing goods and the numerator money, it is easy 
to see how prices have increased. Early economists had 
observed that, if the quantity of money in each man's 
pocket were doubled in some miraculous manner, no one 
would be the better off. It would be found that prices had 
similarly doubled. 

During the World War there was everywhere a great 
increase in paper money which was out of all proportion 
to the metallic base upon which it rests. Such a 

• Inflation. 

situation is known as inflation. Hence there 
was a decreased purchasing power of the dollar, the pound, 
the franc, and the mark. The comparatively highest level 
of prices was found in those countries which suffered 



308 Problems of American Democracy 

most from inflation. The issue of paper money is a legiti- 
mate function of the government, but such money should 
always be redeemable in gold. A parity should be main- 
tained by the constant possibility of obtaining specie 
payment for any paper or credit money issued. The other 
extreme is represented by fiat money, which rests entirely 
upon credit and not upon a gold reserve. Modern warfare 
makes use of credit as one of its weapons, and hence infla- 
tion is a characteristic of such periods. Sometimes the situa- 
tion practically results in fiat money. During the French 
Revolution paper currency, called assignats, was issued in 
great quantities and depreciated in value. Our own Con- 
tinental currency gave rise to the expression "not worth a 
continental." During the Civil War the federal government 
issued notes which were promises to pay. The purchasing 
power of these greenbacks rose and fell with the success of 
the Union army. It was not until 1879 that the resumption 
of specie payment was effected. In our own day, European 
nations were forced to issue great quantities of paper money, 
in spite of their depletion of gold. Inflation took place in 
some countries to such an extent that their currency was 
hardly more than fiat money. 

Money may be divided into metallic and paper. The 
metallic money of the United States consists of gold, silver, 
Kinds of an< ^ subsidiary coin, known as token money, 
Tj > e d in use< ^ ^ or ma king change. Although the gold 
states: dollar is the monetary unit, that metal is coined 

only in the larger denominations. There is also 
the silver dollar which is a relic of the days of bimetallism. 
Subsidiary coins consist of cents, nickels, dimes, quarters 
and half-dollars. The amount of silver contained in token 
money is not equal to the monetary value of the coin. A 



National Regulation of the Currency 309 

safe margin is allowed for fluctuations in the value of the 
metal and to prevent its being melted into bullion. The 
alloy is made of the harder and baser metals. Pure gold 
is too soft to circulate indefinitely, and precautions must 
be made to prevent its deterioration by chipping or filing. 

There are seven kinds of paper money in the United 
States. In the first place, come the gold and silver certificates. 
These are statements that there are so many p aper 
gold or silver dollars deposited in the treasury, money - 
which the bearer can demand in exchange at any time. 
Such paper certificates are easier to carry than the actual 
metallic money which they represent. There are also some 
treasury notes of 1890 at present in circulation. In addi- 
tion to these are the government notes or greenbacks. The 
total Civil War issue of these national promissory notes, 
which amounted to almost a half billion dollars, has been 
largely continued in circulation. Bank notes are a still 
different kind of paper money and include both the National 
Bank notes and two kinds of Federal Reserve notes. 

Our Monetary Standard. — When the new American 
government was established, the current European bimetal- 
lic system was followed. Since that time „,,_ 

J . The gold 

bimetallism has been gradually abandoned standard 

in Europe. 

because of the difficulty of maintaining any 
fixed ratio between gold and silver. A parity of value 
could not be permanently maintained between the two 
metals, because the value of silver, with respect to gold, 
was constantly changing. England adopted the gold 
standard in 1816. The so-called Latin Union of Europe 
attempted to continue bimetallism until 1873. In the 
meantime the production of silver had so increased that 
its price was falling. Silver currency threatened to drive 



310 Problems of American Democracy 

out the gold from those countries. Germany adopted the 
gold standard shortly after her unification in 1870. Her 
example was followed by Austria, Russia, and the Scandi- 
navian countries. Outside Europe a similar development 
was taking place, and for a time the United States was 
almost the only great nation still holding to bimetallism. 

At the beginning of our national existence gold had been 
undervalued at the expense of silver. This drove the for- 
n . ± „. mer metal out of circulation. In 1834 another 

Bimetallism c °^ 

in United inaccurate ratio was established whereby silver 

States. . ; . 

was undervalued and displaced by the relatively 
cheaper gold. During the Civil War the great flood of 
greenbacks drove out both gold and silver and reduced the 
nation to a paper basis. In 1873 Congress passed a law 
omitting the silver dollar from the list of authorized coins. 
Violent opposition was shown by the silver miners and by 
Congressmen from the silver states. In 1878 there was 
passed the Bland-Allison Act which not only reintroduced 
the silver dollar, but required the Secretary of the Treasury 
to purchase monthly from two to four billion dollars' worth 
of silver bullion to be coined into standard dollars. New 
mines continued to increase the supply of silver, and its 
value continued to fall. The Sherman Act of 1890 com- 
pelled the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase enough 
silver to keep up the market price to the established ratio 
between gold and silver. The purchase of the metal was 
financed by the issue of treasury notes, some of which are 
still an element in our national currency. As a result of 
these two laws, the federal government acquired a vast 
hoard of silver bullion and silver dollars. The purchase 
clause of the Sherman Act was finally repealed in 1893. 
With the subsequent decline in the relative value of silver, 



National Regulation of the Currency 311 

a great financial loss was threatened. Some years after 
we had established the gold standard, the actual silver in 
the silver dollar was worth approximately seventy-five 
cents. The recent rise in the price of silver during the 
World War has given the silver in the silver dollar its 
approximate face value. 

Bimetallism was made a campaign issue in 1896 by the 
Democratic party under the leadership of William Jennings 
Bryan. The Republican victory of McKinley, 
however, meant the adoption of the gold stand- present 
ard. This was definitely accomplished in the f^ndard. 
Gold Standard Act of 1900. The monetary unit 
is the gold dollar which is equal to 23.22 grains of pure gold 
or 25.8 grains of gold nine-tenths fine. Silver is largely 
coined for use as token money, although recently silver 
dollars have been coined. On the other hand, there is free 
and unlimited coinage of gold. Any individual can take 
this precious metal to the mint and receive in exchange gold 
coin of the same value. 

Our Banking System. — The new American nation also 
followed the European custom of establishing a national 
bank. Many years later the opposition of The 
President Jackson brought this bank to an end Bank Act. 
and resulted in the establishment of a system of state 
banks. Great differences in administration prevailed 
under this system, as well as reckless and occasionally dis- 
honest management. This era of "wild cat" banking 
reflected itself in the issue of irredeemable notes, and in 
frequent panics, like those of 1837 and 1857, when but few 
banks could meet their obligations. The Civil War gave 
us not only a new tariff, but also a new banking system. 
The National Bank Act, passed in 1863, placed a prohib- 



312 Problems of American Democracy 

itory tax upon the issue of state bank notes. National 
banks were chartered, which could issue national bank 
notes secured by a purchase of government bonds. In this 
way the war was financed. There were other require- 
ments safeguarding the interests of depositors. The law 
marked a great step forward in the development of our 
banking system, but it sacrificed to safety the elasticity of 
the currency. The volume of the currency of a nation 
should increase or decrease in proportion to its volume of 
business, but the act of 1863 made no provision for such 
elasticity of currency. 

The lack of coordination between the various national 
banks, as well as the inelasticity of the currency, made the 
The National Bank Act inadequate for the needs of 

Federal the later period of commercial and industrial 

Reserve # ir 

Act: expansion. One of the early acts of the Wilson 

administration was the passage of the Federal 
Reserve Act in 19 13, which strove to correct these two 
defects. This law created a Federal Reserve Board, con- 
sisting of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Comptroller of 
the Currency, and five other competent men appointed by 
the President. This board is the central coordinating 
authority by means of which the earlier lack of cooperation 
may be overcome. Instead of having one central bank in 
New York, as has been suggested, the country is divided 
into twelve districts in each of which is established a Fed- 
eral Reserve Bank. These are carefully distributed 
throughout the entire «iation as follows: Boston, New 
York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Atlanta, Cleveland, 
Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and 
San Francisco. The capital of each Federal Reserve Bank 
is furnished by the member-banks of that district. The 



National Regulation of the Currency 



3*3 



Federal Reserve Banks are only "bankers' banks," that is, 
they do not make loans to or accept deposits .from indi- 
viduals. Membership is compulsory for national banks, 
but state banks may join by subscribing to certain require- 
ments. 




Operation. 



Courtesy of National City Bank 
The Twelve Federal Reserve Districts 

An attempt is made to secure elasticity of the currency 
by the issue of a new form of credit money known as Fed- 
eral Reserve notes. These are different from, 
and in addition to, the national bank notes pro- 
vided for by the National Bank Act. The issue of Federal 
Reserve notes is accomplished by what is known as the 
rediscounting of commercial paper. A business man may 
write a promissory note, take it to his bank with sufficient 
collateral or security, and borrow money. If there is a 
great volume of business, the banks are pressed by numer- 
ous similar demands. In such periods of commercial 
activity more money is needed. The Federal Reserve Act 



314 Problems of American Democracy 

provides that a member-bank may take the commercial 
paper, that is, the promissory notes, of its customers to the 
Federal Reserve Bank and secure cash for it. This cash 
consists of Federal Reserve notes, and the process itself is 
called the rediscounting of commercial paper. By raising 
or lowering the interest rate for rediscounting commercial 
paper, the Federal Reserve Banks can discourage or encour- 
age the extension of credit and the issue of paper currency. 
No Federal Reserve Bank can reissue the notes of another 
such bank, but must return them to the original bank of 
issue. Besides these Federal Reserve notes there are 
also Federal Reserve hank notes. The World War made 
a stupendous test of the comparatively new system. 
The currency was found to be very elastic in that it could 
be rapidly expanded with increased needs. It was found 
more difficult, however, to bring about a contraction of 
credit, and the country temporarily suffered from infla- 
tion. The enormous issue of Federal Reserve notes dur- 
ing the World War increased the quantity of money and 
raised materially the general level of prices. Without the 
extension of credit, however, it is difficult to see how the 
war could have been financed. 

The national government is supreme m matters of cur- 
rency. It has the sole right to coin money, paper or metal, 
state in- an d onr y National and Federal Reserve Banks 
stitutions. can j ssue no tes. The issue of paper or credit 
money, however, is but one banking function. Institu- 
tions for the purpose of receiving deposits and loans can 
be chartered by the individual states. Each state has a 
number of state banks, for the regulation and inspection 
of which there is a state banking commissioner or commis- 
sion. Savings banks are designed to attract the small 



National Regulation of the Currency 315 

investor and to receive money in ordinary amounts. The 
checking privileges are generally restricted, but a fair rate 
of interest is paid. The element of security is not over- 
looked, for the law generally limits the type of investment 
for which banks can use saving funds. Trust companies 
are financial institutions which are empowered by law to 
do other things in addition to accepting deposits and lend- 
ing money. Real estate, as well as securities, may be 
bought and sold. The estates of deceased people may be 
cared for and the property managed for the heirs. Indeed, 
trust companies are performing a large amount of admin- 
istrative work formerly undertaken by the legal profession. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Define and illustrate barter. Show its disadvantages. 

2. Trace the evolution of money. 

3. What qualities are necessary for a commodity to serve as 
money? 

4. Explain carefully the functions of money. Define terms used. 

5. Define value and price. 

6. Show the relation of the quantity of money to prices. Give 
proof. 

7. Define specie payment, fiat money, and inflation. 

8. Illustrate inflation and show its relation to prices. 

9. Name the kinds of money used in the United States. 

10. Briefly explain the different kinds of paper money. 

11. Explain what is meant by the gold standard. 

12. Just what is the monetary unit in the United States by which 
prices are measured? 

13. What were the difficulties of bimetallism? 

14. What were the main accomplishments of the National Banking 
Act? 

15. What were the main objects of the Federal Reserve Act? 

16. Sketch the organization of the system. 



316 Problems of American Democracy 

17. Explain what is meant by elasticity of currency and show how 
it is secured in the United States. 

18. Differentiate between banks of issue and banks of deposit. 

19. What control do the states have in the matter of banking? 

20. Outline the chief kinds of banking institutions and their 
differences. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The early history of the National Bank. 

2. National banks of Europe. 

3. The greenbacks and the resumption of specie payment. 

4. The general consequences of fiat money. 

5. Bimetallism in the United States and abroad. 

6. The "wild cat" banks of the middle of the century. 

7. The evolution of the gold standard. 

8. The Federal Reserve System during the World War. 

9. Liberty bonds and the inflation of the currency. 
10. The present state of the currency. 

REFERENCES 

Bullock, C. J. Essays in the Monetary History of the United States. 
Clay, H. Economics for the General Reader. Chapters IX and X. 
Fisher, I. The Purchasing Power of Money. 
Fisher, I. Stabilizing the Dollar. 

Marshall, Wright and Field. Materials for the Study of Ele- 
mentary Economics. Chapters X and XI. 
Scott, W. A. Money and Banking. 
Taussig, F. W. Principles of Economics. Book III. 
White, H. Money and Banking. 
Willis, H. P. The Federal Reserve System. 



CHAPTER XXV 

Meeting the Increasing Cost of Government 

I. General considerations 
i . Importance of taxation 

2. The increased burden 

3. Kinds of taxes 

4. Principles of apportionment: 

a. Benefits received 

b. Ability to pay 

c. Other considerations 
II. Federal taxation 

1 . National expenditures 

2. Sources of national revenue 

3. The tariff 

4. Excise duties 

5. The income tax 

6. The excess profits tax 

III. State and local taxation 

1 . Sources of state revenue 

2. Local sources of revenue 

3. The general property tax 

IV. The inheritance tax 

1 . Its nature 

2. Its social significance 

General Considerations. — Taxation is a matter of 
vital concern to the industrial and financial life of a people, 
importance A change in the tariff rate, for illustration, may 
of taxation. mean tlie life Qr death of an industry, with its 

resulting social effects. Early in our national history, a 



318 Problems of American Democracy 

Supreme Court decision declared that the power to tax is 
the power to destroy. We have seen how the National 
Bank Act prevented state banks from issuing notes by the 
simple device of putting a prohibitory tax upon such issues. 
The average citizen realizes that whatever else the govern- 
ment is, it is surely the power which taxes. A tax may 
be defined as a compulsory payment made by an individual 
for the support of the government. 

Since the opening of the twentieth century the burden of 

taxation has been rapidly increasing. This has been due to 

the increasing functions of government, which 

increased the taxpayer is often apt to overlook. Although 

burden. : , . ,. . , . 

the toll gate is disappearing, the various states 
are vying with each other in the building of great state 
highways. Cities have created expensive departments of 
public health and safety to protect the lives and property 
of the citizens. We have seen the increasing activities of 
the national government in the matters of commerce and 
industry. Service is a new ideal in government, and cooper- 
ative ventures cost money. Finally, there is the enormous 
burden of war. Modern civilization seems to have brought 
with it more costly methods and instruments of destruction. 
At the present time, about nine-tenths of all the expendi- 
tures of national government go for wars, past, present and 
future. 

There are many ways of classifying taxes, most of which 
overlap. In the first place, taxes may be classified according 
Kinds of to the unit of government concerned. Thus, 
taxes. there are local, state, and national taxes. Each 

of these will be considered in turn. In the second place 
taxes may be classified as direct and indirect. A direct tax 
cannot be shifted, that is, paid by some one else. An 



Meeting the Increasing Cost of Government 319 

illustration of this principle is the income tax. The tariff, 
on the other hand, is an indirect tax and can be shifted. 
The importer merely adds the tax to the cost of the imported 
article, and it is finally paid by the consumer. It must 
not be imagined, however, that the final burden of a tax 
can be so easily determined. The incidence of taxation is 
an extremely difficult and involved problem. A third and 
common method of classifying taxes is based upon the nature 
of the objects taxed. Thus, we speak of an income, inher- 
itance, or sales tax. Finally, attempts have been made to 
classify taxes according to the purposes for which they are 
imposed. At one extreme is a fee or license tax, in which 
case the benefit derived is considered so personal that only 
the person or persons concerned pay the tax. Illustrations 
of such taxes are the automobile and marriage license fees. 
At the other extreme are those general services, such as 
protection of property, which government guarantees to all 
individuals. Between these two extremes are various 
degrees of services for which the individual so taxed may 
or may not receive direct benefit. For example, the prop- 
erty owner pays a school tax, although he may have no 
children in school. The theory is that education is a 
public duty and benefit, for which all must pay. 

Is there any "rhyme or reason" in our system of taxation, 
or has it just grown up like Topsy? There are many phil- 
osophies of taxation, only two of which may 
be mentioned here. In the first place, there are Princi P les 

r or appor- 

those who favor the apportionment of taxes upon tionment : 
the basis of benefits received. The toll system received. 
might be used as an illustration. Those who 
use the roads must pay for their maintenance. Other writers 
state this principle in terms of the special privilege theory. 



320 Problems of American Democracy 

Thus, the single taxer regards the ownership of land as a 
special privilege and would tax all land owners according 
to the value of the natural resources held, that is, according 
to the special benefits received. Most writers on taxation 
however, accept the ability to pay theory, which disregards 
the actual relation between the amount of the tax paid and 
the degree of benefit derived therefrom. 

For example, certain privileges are enjoyed by all Amer- 
icans, regardless of the degree to which they contribute 
Aunty to the support of government. Of such a char- 

to pay. acter are public education and the police power 

of the State. The cost of such public functions must be 
paid by all. The fairest method of apportionment of this 
taxation among the citizens seems to be according to their 
ability to pay. This may be measured in various ways, 
for example, by income, wealth, or the consumption of 
economic goods. Hence, we have respectively the income, 
the general property, and the consumption taxes. The 
poll tax is contrary to this theory, for it imposes a small, 
but flat, tax upon all voters who are not property owners. 
When also the government supplies some service or com- 
modity like that rendered by a public service corporation, 
the benefit theory is generally put into practice. Thus, 
the water tax is an appropriate measure of the individual 
benefit received through the consumption of water. 

Adam Smith has given us four maxims of taxation which 
are still applicable. In the first place, citizens should 
contribute as nearly as possible to the general expenses in 
other con- proportion to their ability to pay. Secondly, 
sideratwns. ^ Q £ axes which each individual must pay should 
be certain, not arbitrary; while the time and manner of 
payment should be clear and definite. In the third place, 



Meeting the Increasing Cost of Government 321 

every tax should be levied at the time and in the manner 
most convenient for the contributor to pay. Finally, no 
tax should be imposed which is incapable of an economic 
administration. When Lord Grenville came into the Brit- 
ish cabinet, he discovered that it was costing the govern- 
ment more to enforce certain revenue acts in the colonies 
than they were actually bringing in. Before the days of 
the great revolution, France was not carrying a load 
of taxation greater than she could bear; but the taxes were 
unscientifically distributed and administered. All of the 
above four maxims were being ignored. A last principle of 
taxation is that of progression. This was explained by 
Manu, the Indian sage, three thousand years before the 
time of Adam Smith. According to this principle not only 
should the amount of taxes increase with the increase of 
income, but also the percentage of rate should be advanced. 
The principle of progression is illustrated in both our income 
and inheritance taxation laws. 

Federal Taxation. — Before our entrance into the World 
War federal expenditures were averaging annually about 
a half billion dollars. In 191 7, national expen- 

ditures jumped to over a billion dollars. In expendi- 
tures. 
191 8 and 1919 they were, respectively, eight and 

fourteen billion dollars. Such enormous sums as were 
necessary for conducting the war could not be met entirely 
by taxation. The excess of expenditures over revenues 
for those years was provided for by the issue of liberty 
and victory bonds. The United States incurred an unprec- 
edented national debt. The receipts from taxation for 
191 8 and 19 19 were, respectively, a little under and a little 
over four billion dollars. In 1920 the national expendi- 
tures were about four and a half billion dollars, while the 
v 



322 Problems of American Democracy 

total receipts from taxation for the same year were a little 
over five and a half billion dollars. Thus, there was a sur- 
plus and the great work of paying for the war had begun. 
But, in spite of popular agitation, it will be found impos- 
sible to return in the near future to the prewar level of 
federal taxation. 

This enormous revenue was provided by creating new 

taxes as well as by raising the rates of the old ones. The 

. receipts from the excise taxes were raised, from 

Sources of 1 

national a third, to over half a billion dollars. With the 

revenue. .-...., 

advent of prohibition, however, there was a 
sharp decline in this revenue, while the tariff failed to help 
finance the war to any considerable extent. The most 
powerful revenue producers were found in the income tax 
and in the excess profits tax. Returns from these sources 
jumped, from a third of a billion dollars in 1917^0 almost 
three billion dollars in 1918 and 1919. In 1920 the com- 
bined income and excess profits taxes yielded almost four 
billion dollars. War taxes were also placed upon com- 
munication and upon luxuries, which in 1920 aggregated, 
respectively, a third and a quarter of a billion dollars. In 
191 7 a federal inheritance tax was passed, which yielded 
a hundred million dollars in 1920. Other sources of 
national income were found in taxes upon the capital stock 
of corporations, upon legal documents, and upon admis- 
sion to amusements. In 1920 these combined sources of 
revenue furnished a quarter of a billion dollars. 

We have seen that the tariff is a problem of the national 

government, for the Constitution gives Congress control 

over interstate and foreign commerce. It is 

The tariff. . . ° 

specifically forbidden, however, to lay any tax 
upon exports. Duties on imported goods may be either 



Meeting the Increasing Cost of Government 3 23 

specific or ad valorem, according as to whether they are 
taxed by bulk or by value. Before the World War the 
tariff was a very important source of national revenue, 
yielding about half the total receipts of the government 
from 1910 to 1914. With the conclusion of the war, foreign 
imports began to increase, and the tariff may again yield 
considerable revenue. It is unlikely, however, that it will 
soon regain its comparative importance as a source of 
taxation. In 1920 it yielded about one- twentieth of the 
total federal income. It is important to notice that the 
principle of protection and the principle of revenue may 
come into conflict in a given tariff. Rates may be made 
sufficiently high to check the importation of foreign goods, 
and revenue may therefore decline. England has found 
that the best revenue producers are duties imposed upon 
necessities, such as tea and sugar, which are produced 
outside the country. 

An excise is a tax laid upon articles consumed, sold, 
or manufactured within a nation. Hence the term internal 
revenue is applied to such taxation. The com- 
modities generally so taxed are liquors, in cer- duties, 
tain countries, tobacco, and other luxuries. 
Napoleon once remarked that evils had broad backs. The 
taxation of luxuries may be planned so as to discourage 
their consumption as well as to provide revenue. In 
addition to these three groups of commodities, a number 
of miscellaneous articles, such as oleomargarine and filled 
cheese, have been subject to such a tax. During the War, 
the number of articles so taxed, as well as the rates upon 
them, were greatly increased. 

The Constitution originally provided that direct taxes 
should be apportioned among the several states according 



324 Problems of American Democracy 

to population. In 1894 Congress passed an income tax law, 
which was later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme 
The in- Court. An amendment to the Constitution, 
come tax. ra tified in 1 9 13, now legalizes the income tax 
in this country. The 19 13 act of Congress placed a tax 
of one per cent on the incomes of single people in excess 
of three thousand dollars, and of married people in excess of 
four thousand dollars. Moderate surtaxes of from one to 
six per cent were placed upon incomes of over twenty 
thousand dollars. In 19 19 the limits of exemption were 
placed at one thousand dollars for single persons and two 
thousand dollars for married people, with an additional 
exemption of two hundred dollars for every child. The 
normal rate was raised to six per cent upon the first four 
thousand dollars of taxable income, and to twelve per cent 
upon the excess above that amount. Surtaxes were made 
to apply to incomes in excess of five thousand dollars, 
and ranged from one to sixty-five per cent. The Act 
of 192 1 provided for a reduction of these rates as well as 
for an increase in exemptions. The limits of exemptions 
were placed at twenty-five hundred dollars for married men 
and heads of families having a net income of five thousand 
dollars or less, with an exemption of four hundred dollars 
for each dependent under eighteen years of age. The 
normal rate of tax was four per cent on the first four 
thousand dollars of taxable income, and eight per cent on 
the excess above that amount. The surtax, applicable to 
net incomes above six thousand dollars, was lowered so 
that it ranged from one to fifty per cent. The tax on cor- 
poration earnings was increased from ten to twelve and 
one-half per cent, while the maximum rates on estate taxes 
remained unchanged. 



Meeting the Increasing Cost of Government 325 

The inflation of the War helped cause high profits as 
well as high prices. Certain industrial corporations were 
able to pay huge dividends and a large number The excess 
of individual fortunes were made. America fol- P rofits tax * 
lowed Europe's example and eagerly seized upon this new 
source of taxation. Therefore an excess profits tax was 
levied in 191 7, and revised in 1919. Taxation was levied 
at the rate of twenty per cent upon all profits in excess of 
eight per cent of the invested capital, and at the rate of 
forty per cent on profits exceeding twenty per cent of the 
invested capital. The combined income and excess profits 
taxes produced three-fifths of all the national income dur- 
ing war times. With the advent of peace and economic 
reconstruction, came falling prices and falling profits. 
Excess profits, therefore, dwindled as a source of taxation. 
Consequently the Act of 19 21 repealed the excess profits 
tax, as well as the transportation and so-called nuisance 
taxes. 

State and Local Taxation. — Most states are not 
entirely dependent upon taxation as their sole source of 
revenue. Highway rents, department fees, and 
similar items help pay for the performance of a of state 
number of public functions. Again, in some 
states the public lands have been a considerable source of 
revenue. Nevertheless, in 1919, the aggregate revenues of 
all the states showed that four-fifths of the total revenue 
was secured by taxation. Of all the sources of taxation, 
the general property tax was the most fruitful. In 19 19 
it yielded forty-five per cent of the aggregate taxation 
receipts of the individual states. The special property 
taxes, including those upon corporation stock and inheri- 
tances, yielded about twenty per cent. Insurance and other 



326 Problems of American Democracy 

corporations yielded fifteen per cent of the total income 
from taxation, and licenses upon business and other sources 
gave almost another fifteen per cent. 

A study of municipal receipts also discloses taxation as 

the chief source of revenue. Although a number of cities 

receive income from the sale of franchises, the 

Local 

sources of earnings of public service corporations and 

revenue. 

special assessments, taxation proper was found 
in 1918 to yield about seventy per cent of all the revenue. 
While the city may have its own licenses and other business 
taxes of a minor nature, the general property tax furnishes 
about sixty-five per cent of the total revenue. The 
smaller units of local government, such as the township 
and village, show a similar dependence upon the general 
property tax. The same is true of the county, which is an 
administrative unit of the state. The fact that the general 
property tax appears in both the state and the local rev- 
enues means that the receipts from this tax are generally 
divided between the two units of government. The actual 
assessment and collection may be done by either the state 
or the local officers of government. 

The general property tax, which is not used by the 

federal government, is thus the chief source of revenue 

, for the local and state governments. It includes 

The general ° 

property a tax upon both real and personal property. 
Real property such as land cannot be concealed, 
but personal property frequently can be. The efficacy of 
the general property tax is frequently called into question 
because of the ease with which owners of securities can 
evade the payment of this tax. There are three steps in 
the administration of the general property tax — the assess- 
ment, the fixing of the rate, and the actual collection of the 



Meeting the Increasing Cost of Government 327 

tax. The governing body determines what the rate of 
taxation shall be, as, for illustration, two dollars a year 
upon each hundred dollars worth of property. There is a 
body of men known as assessors who appraise or determine 
the value of each piece of property. In order that the 
owner may suffer no injustice occasioned by a sudden fall 
in values, the assessment value is frequently placed at about 
only eighty or ninety per cent of the actual market value. 
The Inheritance Tax. — The inheritance taxes or death 
duties have become of considerable importance within the 
last thirty years both abroad and in America. 

Its nature. 

Since 1916 the United States has had a national 
inheritance tax, the rates of which were increased as the 
War progressed. In addition, a number of the individual 
states have their own inheritance taxes. The rates and 
other provisions vary greatly in the different common- 
wealths. The principle of progression, however, is com- 
mon to most of them. Large inheritances not only pay 
more than small inheritances, but the rate increases with 
the size of the estate. Again, a distinction is generally 
made between direct and collateral heirs. It is regarded as 
unfair to tax the inheritance of the children to as great an 
extent as the inheritance of more distant relatives of the 
deceased. Although there are possibilities of evasion, this 
tax provides administrative advantages. Moreover, it is 
contended that a tax upon legacies imposes no excessive 
hardship upon the fortunate recipient of the estate. 

By some writers the inheritance tax is regarded as a 
direct attack upon the rights of private property. They 
believe that the State should not attempt to i ts soc iai 
limit the extent to which an individual may S1 § mficaiice * 
bequeath his own possessions. On the other hand, the 



328 Problems of American Democracy 

inheritance tax is regarded by another school of thinkers 
as a great democratic advance, which forces each genera- 
tion to stand upon its own feet. Equality of opportunity 
means the ability of each individual to advance to the best 
of his natural capacity. It is contended that the inheri- 
tance of colossal wealth gives to certain fortunate indi- 
viduals too great a start in the race of life. To that extent 
they are sheltered from economic competition in the struggle 
for existence. In this manner there is lessened the oper- 
ation of the principle of natural selection, which seeks to 
place the most naturally competent leaders in responsible 
positions. The adherents of this school, therefore, favor 
the imposition of inheritance taxes in order that the ine- 
qualities of past ages may not become increasingly greater 
with each generation. It must be remembered, however, 
that they do not advocate complete confiscation of the 
stored-up wealth of every generation. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Why has the burden of taxation increased for the nation? 

2. For the state and local government? 

3. Explain several methods of classifying taxes. 

4. Contrast the ability to -pay theory with the benefit received 
theory of taxation. 

5. Explain the principle of progression. 

6. What were Adam Smith's maxims of taxation? 

7. Show the increase of federal expenditure due to the World War. 

8. Show the increased federal revenue and its sources. 

9. Contrast the relative importance of the tariff as a source of 
revenue to-day with its importance a decade ago. 

10. Show how the principles of protection and revenue may 
conflict. 

n. What are excise duties? What are the principal objects of 
this kind of taxation? 



Meeting the Increasing Cost of Government 3 29 

12. Trace the evolution of the income tax in the United States. 

13. Explain the provisions of the income tax of 1919. Of 1921. 

14. What are the principal sources of revenue for the states? 

15. What are the principal sources of revenue for the cities? 

16. Discuss the administration of the general property tax. 

17. What arguments have been advanced for the inheritance tax? 

18. Do you think such a tax fair? Why or why not? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Changes in taxation in the United States since 1913. 

2. The principle of progression as illustrated by surtax rates. 

3. The present income tax law of the United States. 

4. Income taxes abroad. 

5. History of the excess profits tax. 

6. Inheritance taxes at home and abroad. 

7. The defects of the general property tax. 

8. Fixing the local tax rate and the assessing of properties in 
your community. 

9. Disarmament and taxation. 

10. New sources of taxation for municipalities. 

REFERENCES 

Adams, H. C. Science of Finance. 

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 

May, 1921. 
Bullock, C. J. Selected Readings in Public Finance. 
Ely, R. T. Taxation in American States and Cities. 
Hamilton, W. Current Economic Problems. 
Plehn, C. Introduction to a Study of Public Finance. 
SeligmanHS. R. A. Essays in Taxation; The Income Tax. 
Taussig, F. W. Principles of Economics. Book VIII. 
West, M. The Inheritance Tax. Chapters VII and IX. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

The Distribution of the National Income 

I. The general process 

i. Meaning of distribution 

2. Production and distribution 

3. The law of variable proportions 
II. The shares in distribution 

1. Rent 

2. Interest: 

a. The demand for capital 

b. The supply of capital 

3. Profits 

4. Wages: 

a. Causes of differences 

b. Different labor groups 

c. Explanation of differences 

d. Differences within the group 

5. Earned and unearned incomes 

The General Process. — The national income may be 
regarded as a flow of goods, representing wealth produced 
,, . by a nation in a given time. A considerable 

Meaning » ° 

of distri- portion of this income finds its way into the 

bution. x J 

hands of the government in the form of taxes. 
Money is the mere medium of exchange. What the various 
governments desire is not the currency, but economic goods, 
such as armaments, roads, and school houses. A consider- 
able portion of the national income goes for providing for 



The Distribution of the National Income 331 

the national defence and for other cooperative activities of 
government. After the taxes have been deducted, the 
remainder of the national income is enjoyed by the citizens 
of the nation. This also takes the form of a flow of goods, 
for which the money income has been spent. It is an obvious 
fact that this stream, which we call the national income, 
divides itself into branches of different sizes. To some 
individuals, it brings automobiles and fine clothing, while 
to others only the barest necessities of life. Later we shall 
discuss the extent of these differences in incomes and the 
resulting standards of living. At present we are attempt- 
ing merely to see how the system operates and to get a bird's 
eye view of the process of distribution. 

There are two primary factors in production, land and 
labor. Originally wealth was created by the direct appli- 
cation of labor to land. With the development Production 
of industry, a secondary factor known as capital and distn- 
came into existence. This has been defined as 
the product of past labor used for further production, and 
it is represented by such forms of wealth as tools and machin- 
ery. It is to be contrasted with what may be called con- 
sumption goods, that is, wealth ready for immediate enjoy- 
ment in the form of food, clothing, and other necessities, 
comforts, and luxuries of life. A final factor in production 
is business enterprise which brings together the three factors 
in production. Each of these factors gets some share in the 
distribution of the wealth which it has helped to produce. 
The share going to labor is known as wages, that to land, 
as rent. Business enterprisers receive profits, and the 
owners of capital interest. 

In chemistry the elements combine in some fixed pro- 
portions. Thus, two atoms of hydrogen, one of sulphur, 



2,2,2 Problems of American Democracy 

and four of oxygen unite to form a molecule of sulphuric 
acid. The various elements in economic production, such 
. as land, labor, and capital, may be combined in 

variable varying proportions. For any known time or 

proportions. ... 

conditions there may be a given but temporary 
ratio, which will give the maximum production. This ratio 
cannot be permanent, however, for conditions of supply 
and demand are constantly changing. In our early history 
land was abundant and labor scarce. Hence, rents were 
low and in some cases non-existent, while wages were high. 
Agriculture was therefore developed extensively rather than 
intensively. In Europe, on the other hand, the production 
of food was characterized by a combination of relatively less 
land and more labor. Under conditions of free competition, 
the scarcity of any factor of production, in proportion to 
the need for it, determines its relative share of the national 
income. Thus, in a new country, rent is generally low, 
while wages and interest rates are higher than in older lands. 
The law of variable proportions may also be illustrated by 
combinations of labor and capital. It is frequently possible 
to substitute machinery for certain types of labor performed 
by hand. If wages are high and the interest rate low, this 
substitution is more apt to be made than if the reverse is 
true. The value in exchange of any commodity is determined 
by conditions of supply and demand. In a similar way, 
one school of economists has attempted to explain the 
process of distribution. The apportionment of the national 
income among the various factors in production depends 
theoretically upon their relative abundance and produc- 
tivity. Thus, the rate of wages, interest, or rent is a measure 
of the supply of labor, capital, or land in proportion to the 
demand for each of these factors. 



The Distribution of the National Income $?,$ 

The Shares in Distribution. — Rent is the share of the 
national income which goes to the owners of land for its 

share in the production of wealth. There is a 

i • i i i Rent - 

scarcity element in rent, because, where natural 

resources are abundant in proportion to the population, 
rent is low. Where the reverse is true, rents are high. Rent 
is primarily due, however, to differences in the productive 
capacity of the various lands. Nature has given of her 
fertility in varying degrees to different pieces of land. If 
one acre of land will yield, to the same expenditure of labor 
and capital, twenty dollars' worth more of wheat in a year 
than another acre similarly located, it will yield twenty 
dollars' more rent to its owners. The varying rent of mines 
is a similar rough measure of their different degrees of 
productivity. With urban land the determining feature is 
site value. A plot of ground upon Wall Street will bring 
more rent than the same size piece of ground located some 
distance from the financial center. 

The indirect or roundabout method of producing wealth 
is to create capital first, and then by the aid of such capital 
to make the finished goods. Land, labor, and ,. re 
capital working together have been found to be The demand 
far more effective than the old method of apply- 
ing labor directly to land. The effort, time, and material 
spent in the making of capital have been found well worth 
while. The Industrial Revolution intensified the capitalis- 
tic process. Goods were no longer made by hand, but by 
machinery. Capital came to play a more important role 
in production than ever before. To-day any business man 
will admit that capital is productive. Let us take, for ex- 
ample, the case of a tailor who has been pressing clothes by 
hand, but finally decides to install a pressing machine. He 



334 Problems of American Democracy 

immediately discovers that, in a given time, he can easily 
increase the amount of work done. He is thus enabled to 
pay the interest on the capital he has borrowed, which is 
represented by the machine, and to increase his own returns. 
Hence we say that capital is productive. Labor is an 
original source of wealth, for capital is itself the product of 
labor applied to land. Nevertheless, labor aided by capital 
is far more productive than labor working alone. Interest, 
therefore, represents this additional productivity. 

The productivity of capital, or rather of labor used in a 
capitalistic form, explains the demand for it. Turning 
The supply now to the supply of capital we find that it 
of capital. originates by saving. The capitalistic process 
is roundabout and consumes time. The making of capital 
involves an immediate abstaining from present enjoyment. 
The choice must be made between reserving goods for 
future production or consuming them for present use. 
Only the latter can afford immediate enjoyment, and the 
creation of capital means deferring consumption from the 
present to the future. A nation may demand the pro- 
duction of luxuries, or it may be saving enough to direct 
production into the channels of capital. Each individual 
faces the same problem. He can receive his share of the 
national income in the form of consumption goods or in 
the form of capital. He may never see the capital, but he 
can hold in his possession a claim upon it in the form of 
securities or a bank deposit which pays interest. Each 
individual has the choice of spending his money for the 
immediate gratification of his \\ ants or of depositing it in 
a savings bank. The bank will invest the money in some 
productive enterprise and thus further the creation of 
capital. From the additional wealth created by this pro- 



The Distribution of the National Income 335 

ductive enterprise, the bank will not only enrich itself, but 
it will also pay interest to its depositors. As the savings 
increase, that is, as the supply of capital increases in pro- 
portion to the demand for it, the lower will be the rate of 
interest. 

Profits may be characterized as the uncertain share in 
the process of distribution. They arise because of changes 
in prices, or in the popular demand. Every 
enterpriser must be a speculator to the extent 
of taking industrial risks. Losses balance profits. A new 
venture must offer an extra reward in the form of profits, 
or the investor will be content to accept merely the cur- 
rent rate of interest. The return upon bonds is an exam- 
ple of fixed interest, but the more uncertain returns in the 
form of varying dividends on stock represent profits. 

The share of the national income which goes to labor is 
known as wages. Just as land in its economic sense includes 
all forms of natural resources, so labor, in a w „„ . 

' wages : 

similar sense, includes all kinds of human pro- Causes of 

j u ±-L -u • 1 -l. J ^ differences. 

ducers, whether bram workers or hand workers. 
The distinction between salary and wages is a social dis- 
tinction rather than an economic one. The return of 
labor is measured in terms of wages. Nevertheless we 
find great differences in wages, for an explanation of 
which under a regime of free competition we must largely 
turn to conditions of supply and demand. The number of 
competent men for certain types of work is limited, either 
because of a lack of natural ability or because of a lack of 
proper training. On the other hand, the supply of some 
of the lower types of labor is great. We have seen the 
tendency of population to grow from the bottom, that is 
to increase more rapidly among the lower economic groups. 



336 Problems of American Democracy 

According to Professor Carver, wages in such occupations 
will therefore remain low as long as the number of workers 
in these groups continues to increase either by an advanc- 
ing birth rate or by an increasing immigration. 

A number of attempts have been made to classify the 
different kinds of labor. Professor Seager distinguishes 
Different between five different grades of workers, as fol- 
labor groups. i ows: (-,-) men having superior capacity for 
planning and carrying out large undertakings; (2) men 
competent to carry out small undertakings or to administer 
large commercial and industrial undertakings in sub- 
ordinate positions, as well as men having average pro- 
fessional ability; (3) men trained for mechanical or clerical 
labor; (4) men without special training, but possessing the 
required strength and endurance for manual labor; (5) men 
who lack the mental and physical qualities necessary for 
continuous labor of any kind. However, no such classi- 
fication can be absolute, but is merely suggestive. One 
group fades into the other, and there is considerable over- 
lapping. Again, in a democracy individuals are constantly 
moving up and down from one group into another. The 
romance of American history lies in the absence of social 
castes. A rail splitter becomes president, and many of 
the great captains of modern industry rise from the ranks. 

Just as there are differences in land which explain rent, 
so there are human differences which explain wages. The 
^ , . really important question is whether these dif- 

Explanahon J L x 

of differ- f erences are the result of heredity or of environ- 

ences. . ....... . . 

ment. Are certain individuals m society 
"hewers of wood and drawers of water" because they are 
mentally incapable of doing anything else? Or, is it 
merely that they never received the education or inspira- 



The Distribution of the National Income 337 

tion necesssary to do something better? Mental and 
physical differences between individuals will always exist, 
because the force of physical heredity is as enduring as life 
itself. Perhaps some day we may be able to measure, 
with a fair degree of accuracy, these inherent differences. 
Environment, however, as well as heredity determines 
these labor groups. Low wages are the result of low 
standards of living as well as the cause. A certain mode 
of life is as much a part of the social heredity, as a dark 
skin may be of the physical heredity. Although it is 
possible to overcome the former and not the latter, com- 
paratively few individuals succeed in rising above the 
social standards of their group. Social workers speak of the 
problem of mental inertia. A democracy must seek not 
only to improve the social environment, but also to extend 
the advantages of the public schools system. Equality 
of opportunity depends upon the diffusion of knowledge, 
which tends to eliminate as far as possible the human 
differences which are the result of environment. 

Under certain conditions, differences in wages within a 
group are fostered by the immobility or fixity of labor. 
Workers are human beings and form attach- _.„ 

" m Differences 

ments for certain communities, fellow workers, -within the 
and kinds of work. Change is not always easy. 
Therefore, within the same general group of labor there 
are differences of wages because the laborers do not want 
to move to a new place, even though they could get more 
money. The immobility of labor is one cause of such 
differences, but there are numerous other reasons. For 
example, regularity of employment must be considered. 
All other things being equal, positions which offer steady 
employment will pay lower wages than those which are 
w 



33& Problems of American Democracy 

seasonal. The chance of promotion is another factor to be 
considered. Employments which are "blind alley" jobs 
should pay more than positions which have the possibility 
of advancement. Again, certain kinds of work are held 
in higher social esteem than others. Some men are con- 
tent to receive smaller salaries in order to hold " white 
collar" jobs. If the same grade of labor is demanded in 
two occupations, wages will be lower in the more pleasant 
or safer occupation. Again, if a long period of preparation 
is required, wages will be higher than when no such pre- 
liminary training is necessary. For this reason the 
physician is seldom overpaid, in spite of his brief consulta- 
tion with his patient. The difference in wages between 
men and women in the same occupations is gradually dis- 
appearing. The explanation of the old difference lay in 
the overcrowding of women into relatively fewer occu- 
pations. Again, they frequently had fewer dependents 
and usually abandoned their occupation after marriage. 

Of recent years there have been attempts to classify the 
various shares in distribution as either earned or unearned 
„ , ,, incomes. This influence has made itself chiefly 

Earned and 

unearned felt in the realm of taxation in the form of 

incomes. 

inheritance, super-income, and land taxes. 
Wages, however, are the result of one's own efforts and 
can therefore generally be called earned incomes. Rent 
is due to the superior productivity of land. Because it 
represents nature's part in production rather than that of 
man, it has been frequently designated unearned income. 
In profits there are both earned and unearned elements. 
This is true because profits may be due to the foresight, 
ability, or efficiency of the enterpriser, or they may be the 
result of risk and speculation. When profits are the 



The Distribution of the National Income 339 

result of monopoly, they represent a distinctly anti-social 
and unearned income. Capital is the result of saving, and 
hence interest is earned by the one who does the saving. 
Critics of the present system, however, argue that such 
is frequently not the case, for it is inaccurate to speak of 
interest as the reward of saving in the case of those who 
have inherited large fortunes. Here we come face to face 
with the rights of private property. An individual may 
have labored industriously and saved patiently in order 
to accumulate a small fortune. Instead of spending his 
share of the national income in the form of consumption 
goods, he may have invested a large part of it in capital 
goods because of their future income-producing power. 
Shall society limit his right to bequeath this property to 
his children? Again, another individual may have saved 
his wages and invested them in land. Shall his income, 
therefore, be called unearned? 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1 . What is the real national income? How is it measured? 

2. What is meant by the distribution of wealth? 

3. What are the factors in production, and what shares in dis- 
tribution correspond to these factors? 

4. How are these shares in distribution roughly determined? 

5. Explain and criticize the so-called law of variable proportions. 

6. How do you explain the existence of rent? Give causes. 

7. What is capital? Give illustrations. 

8. Show how the capitalistic method of production is a round- 
about process. 

9. Show how capital is the result of saving. 

10. Explain interest from the point of view of both borrower and 
lender. 

1 1 . What do you think would be the effects of the abolition of 
interest by some socialistic law? 



34© Problems of American Democracy 

12. Differentiate between capital and consumption goods. Illustrate. 

13. Do you think this distinction important? Why or why not? 

14. How do you explain the various labor groups? 

15. How do you explain the differences in wages between these 
different groups? 

16. Why are wages different in different occupations within the 
same labor group? 

17. What do you understand by earned and unearned incomes? 

18. Do you think this distinction is accurate and possible? 

19. Do you think it is important? Why or why not? 

20. Analyze the various shares in distribution upon this basis. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Efficiency as an element in the creation of capital. 

2. Monopoly as a factor in distribution. 

3. The theory of interest. 

4. The resemblance between the theory of rent and the theory of 
profits. 

5. The theory of wages from the standpoint of both productivity 
and monopoly. 

6. Government regulation of profits. 

7. Laws for the prevention of usury. 

8. Wages and labor unions. 

9. Present movements designed to effect changes in distribution. 

10. Earned and unearned incomes as applied to taxation programs. 

1 1 . The inequalities of wealth. 

12. Civilization and the rights of private property. 

REFERENCES 

Burch, H. R. American Economic Life, Chaps. XXXIX-XLIII. 

Carver, T. N. Principles of Political Economy. 

Carver, T. N. Essays in Social Justice. 

Ely, R. T. Outlines of Economics, pp. 493-524. 

Hobson, J. A. Work and Wealth. 

Seager, H. R. Principles of Economics. 

Taussig, F. W. Principles of Economics, Vol. II, pp. 3-43. 

Withers, H. The Case for Capitalism. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

Proposed Economic Reconstruction of the State 

I. Single tax 
i. Its program 

2. The nature of economic rent 

3. Alleged advantages 

4. Objections 

5. Progress of the movement 
II. Socialism 

1. Meaning 

2. Its indictment of capitalism: 

a. The lure of profits 

b. Wastes of competition. 

c. Inequality of wealth 

d. Exploitation of labor 

3. The development of schools of socialism: 

a. Early Utopian socialists 

b. Revolutionary socialism 

c. Evolutionary socialism 

d. Guild socialism 

4. Alleged advantages of socialism: 

a. Economic 

b. Moral 

5. Its hidden dangers 

6. Political strength of socialism: 

a. In Europe 

b. In England and America 

A number of protests have been made against the pres- 
ent economic system. The single taxer would have society 

341 



342 Problems of American Democracy 

appropriate rent, while the socialist would have the State 
eliminate the private appropriation of all shares in the 
distribution of wealth except wages. These theories rep- 
resent more radical readjustments in the apportionment 
of the national income than any of the recent changes in 
taxation that have been discussed. 

Single Tax. — The modern single tax movement may- 
be said to date from the publication of Henry George's 
its Progress and Poverty in 1879. The author of this 

program. remarkable book raises the question as to why 
the gaunt spectre of poverty has persistently accompanied 
modern progress. Why have wages tended to a mere sub- 
sistence level, in spite of the great inventions of the Indus- 
trial Revolution? Henry George finds the answer to his 
great question in the private ownership of land and other 
natural resources. He contends that the share in the 
national income which has gone in the form of rent to the 
fortunate owners of land should go to labor in the form of 
additional wages. His proposal is that the State appro- 
priate rent in the form of a tax upon land values. It is 
very important to remember that land in this connection 
means unimproved land. Buildings and other improve- 
ments upon land, in the form of labor and capital expended, 
are not to be included. At present unimproved land is 
actually taxed at a lower rate than improved land. But 
under single tax an idle piece of land would pay the same 
tax as an improved piece of land of the same size, fertility, 
or location. The value of the land itself must therefore 
be assessed independently of the buildings upon it, which 
are not taxed at all. As the State is to tax land values 
up to their limit, such a program means practically the 
end of private property in land. 



Proposed Economic Reconstruction of the State 343 

Rent in the ordinary sense of the word includes the pay- 
ment for the use of the buildings upon the land as well as 
for the use of the land itself. Rent in its true _. 

1 he nature 

economic sense is merely that portion of the of economic 

rent. 

commercial rent which can be ascribed to the 
value of the land itself. One cause of rent lies in the varying 
natural fertility of land. Inasmuch as this is the result of 
nature, and not due to the efforts of man, the single taxer 
asks why the fortunate owner should be permitted to 
appropriate, in the form of economic rent, this surplus 
which he has not produced. "The earth is the Lord's and 
the fulness thereof." The single taxer argues that the good 
things of nature were provided for all the children of all 
the people and not for the private owners. Another source 
of economic rent lies in the scarcity of land in certain 
sections. This is particularly true of cities. Compare the 
price of an acre of ground on Manhattan Island to-day with 
its price in the days of the first John Jacob Astor. As 
population increases and building develops, land in the 
central section of the city becomes more valuable. A given 
piece of land may remain unoccupied while the growing 
city is built around it. Although the owner has done nothing 
to increase its productivity, the sale or rental value of the 
land has increased enormously. Such a rise in value which 
is known as the "unearned increment" has been very 
common in growing American communities. The single 
taxer contends that such an increase in value is socially 
created, that is, it is due to the development of the entire 
community. Hence he advocates that society appropriate 
this economic rent in the form of an increased tax upon 
land in proportion to its increase in value. 

The single taxer justifies his position upon the ground 



344 Problems of American Democracy 

that land is different from other forms of wealth, such as 
capital and consumption goods which are made by man. 
Alleged Again, land values are often socially created, that 
advantages. ^ ^ey are created by the whole community 
rather than by any single individual. With these two prem- 
ises as a starting point, the single taxer then attempts to 
point out a number of advantages in his plan. In the first 
place, idle land will be brought into use, for it will no longer 
be profitable to hold it for a rise in value. Speculation in 
land will disappear, while those who can utilize it to the 
best advantage will be enabled to do so. The breaking of 
the land monopoly will then increase production and inci- 
dentally lower the cost of living. Another alleged advant- 
age of the single tax is the relief of poverty. Impelled by 
sympathy for the lot of the poor, a burning desire led 
Henry George to the discovery of his theory of agrarian 
reform. In the last place, such a system would open an 
abundant source of revenue with which to meet the increas- 
ing expenses of government. Moreover, instead of an intri- 
cate and complex system of taxation, the whole field of 
public finance could be revolutionized by the introduction 
of such a simplified and unified system of taxation. 

On the other hand, it is of doubtful expediency to rely 
upon any one single tax. The expenses of government and 
the rent fund do not necessarily correspond. We 
have seen how the former, owing to the War, 
suddenly increased out of all proportion to the latter. In 
the second place, is it fair that one share in the distribution 
of wealth should bear the entire cost of taxation? Is rent 
the only unearned income? Single tax would practically 
mean the confiscation of the wealth represented by property 
rights in land. Although land values do not represent 



Proposed Economic Reconstruction of the State 345 

individual human effort and to this extent are unearned, 
yet for hundreds of years society has sanctioned the private 
ownership of land. Savings and wages have been invested 
in land like any other form of wealth. Few individuals 
living to-day acquired land as a free gift of nature, but 
rather by purchase or inheritance. In the third place, 
administrative difficulties are urged against the single 
tax. Is the distinction between rent and interest, or between 
land and capital, a practical as well as a theoretical dis- 
tinction? Can an assessor distinguish between the value 
of a farm which is due to material qualities of the soil and 
the value which is due to the capital and labor expended in 
its cultivation? In a city, it is easier to separate the value 
of a building from the value of the site. 

The single tax movement has made considerable prog- 
ress in both new and old countries. Although hesitating 
to accept it as the only form of taxation, the „ 

x J 7 Progress 

principle of the single tax has been adopted in of the 

movement. 

New Zealand and Vancouver. In a modified 
form it has made headway in parts of England, Germany, 
and other countries. The rents, or royalties, going to the 
owners of the British coal mines were under fire for some 
time after the outbreak of the War. The appropriation 
by society of future "unearned increments" has been 
advocated in both foreign and native lands. In February, 
1920, a bill was introduced into Congress which provided 
for a one per cent tax upon all unimproved land values in 
excess of ten thousand dollars. The proposed measure 
was aimed at the partial appropriation of economic rent 
to pay for a share of war expenses. 

Socialism. — The socialist would have society absorb 
not only rent, but also profits and interest. This would 



346 Problems of American Democracy 

mean that private property rights in capital as well as in 
land would cease to exist. Private property rights in con- 
sumption goods would continue to exist, how- 
Meaning. 

ever, to a greater or less extent. Although 
socialists differ on this point, it is probable that an indi- 
vidual would be permitted to own his own home, furniture, 
and personal effects. He would not, however, be per- 
mitted to own a number of houses for his own private 
gain. There would be no such things as corporate stocks 
and bonds yielding so-called unearned incomes. Wages 
would be the only source of income, although most social- 
ists would make labor include both hand and brain workers. 
Production would be carried on exclusively by the State. 
Free competition and the individual business enterpriser 
would cease to exist, while their places would be taken 
by government monopoly and national ownership. All 
industries would be regarded as public utilities, and the 
capital would be owned and saved collectively. 

Such sweeping changes would seem to indicate that the 
socialist is completely dissatisfied with the present economic 
its indict- system. That such is the case is attested by his 
me ?} ° f bitter criticisms of the present social order. In 

capitalism: ^ 

The lure the first place he contends that, under the pres- 
ent stimulus of private profit, production is not 
carried on in the best interests of society. The goods pro- 
duced are often of inferior quality, and the public is 
defrauded. Cloth, he asserts, is often shoddy, and food 
adulterated. Moreover, it is contended that the present 
system diverts production from the making of necessities 
and comforts for all to the manufacture of luxuries for the 
rich. Economic demand, which is the indicator production 
follows, is determined by purchasing power rather than by 



Proposed Economic Reconstruction of the State 347 

social desirability. Even more serious than the economic 
wastes are the human wastes. Industrial accidents and 
occupational diseases would be lessened were it not for the 
great race for profits. Finally, under the spur of private 
profits, the great natural resources are wasted and con- 
servation finds little place in the social system. 

Economic competition, as well as the motive of private 
profits, is regarded by the socialist as productive of waste 
because it results in unnecessary duplication of wastes of 
equipment and labor. Advertising and cross com P etitim ' 
freights are also among the expenses of competition. The 
economies of large scale production are contrasted with the 
expenses and wastes of small scale production. The growth 
of private monopoly is cited as proof of the inefficiency of 
the present system of free competition. Instead of having 
numerous corporate monopolies for the gains of private 
individuals, the socialist would substitute State monopolies 
for the good of all. In the last place, the present com- 
petitive system is characterized by frequent cycles of 
depression, which bring unemployment and loss of wages 
to the workers. It is contended that under a socialistic 
regime production would be stabilized. 

A third indictment of the socialist against the accepted 
order of things is the present inequality of wealth. Accord- 
ing to Dr. King of Wisconsin University in his inequality 
study of the wealth and income of the people of °* weaXi ' 
the United States, two per cent of the population own 
sixty per cent of the wealth, while the poorest two-thirds 
of the population own but one-twentieth of the entire 
national wealth. The country at present possesses several 
thousand millionaires on the one hand, and several million 
paupers on the other. It is contended that the very rich 



348 Problems of American Democracy 

people cannot possibly spend their entire incomes in the 
gratification of their own desires. For them a large por- 
tion of the national income takes the form of capital goods 
rather than consumption goods. Hence, their wealth is 
a kind of trust fund, which should be administered in the 
best interests of society. Furthermore, the modern social- 
ist objects to such concentrated control of production by a 
few individuals, who in many cases have obtained their 
wealth by speculation, monopoly, or inheritance. 

The large share of the national income which goes to 
individuals in the form of profits, rent, and interest leaves 
Exploitation a comparatively small share for wages. Hence, 
of labor. t ^ j QW s t an dards of living of the workers. Yet, 
asserts the socialist, labor is the source of all wealth. The 
sole measure of value for any commodity, according to the 
socialist, should be the amount of labor involved in its 
production. Since this is not the case under the pres- 
ent system, the worker does not receive all that he pro- 
duces. Such a system of exploitation is possible only when 
the worker does not own the instruments of production 
and is forced to accept what the employer sees fit to give 
him. The expression "wage slavery" is sometimes used 
by the socialist to designate this condition of the worker. 

Although socialists are united in their criticisms of the 
present capitalistic system they differ widely among them- 
selves as to how the new social order should be 
ment of reconstructed. Indeed, so divergent are the 
socialism: plans of various writers that frequently there is 
Early Utopian little common ground except the basic principle 

socialists. . 

of collective ownership of the means of produc- 
tion. Modern socialism may be said to have made its first 
appearance as a protest against the early evils of the fac- 



Proposed Economic Reconstruction of the State 349 

tory system. At the opening of the nineteenth century, 
there appeared a little group of writers who are commonly 
referred to as the Utopian socialists. Among the leaders 
were Saint-Simon and Fourier in France, and Robert Owen 
in England. They preached the gospel of the brotherhood 
of man and the dignity of labor, but were inclined to under- 
estimate the practical difficulties in the way of their various 
proposals. They are chiefly important because of their 
influence in starting a number of little communistic 
societies. Of this character, Brook Farm in New England 
is an illustration, which has literary as well as economic 
associations. 

Out of the Revolutions of 1830 and 1848 on the con- 
tinent of Europe emerged other socialistic, schemes. The 
ideas of Louis Blanc were supposedly put into Revolutionary 
practice in the short-lived public work shops of sociahsm - 
France. The experiment was brought to a close by the 
terrible "June Days," and reaction triumphed with the 
coup d'etat of Louis Napoleon. The real father of modern 
socialism was Karl Marx, whose ponderous work entitled 
Das Kapital has been described by his followers as the 
"bible of socialism.'' A German of Jewish parentage, he 
was exiled from his native land because of his radicalism, 
and he accomplished most of his work in London. Marx 
was an exponent of the economic interpretation of history 
and explained the institutions of each age in terms of the 
prevailing economic system. He regarded human history as 
an evolution from the slavery of antiquity to the serfdom 
of the Middle Ages, and from this medieval serfdom to the 
"wage slavery" of modern times. The Industrial Revo- 
lution, as we have seen, created a gulf between the workers 
and the new group of capitalists who owned the instru- 



350 Problems of American Democracy 

ments of production. Marx believed that it was impos- 
sible to bridge this gulf and hence preached the doctrine 
of conflict or class struggle. Out of this situation was to 
come an inevitable social revolution, in which the workers 
would wrest the control of the instruments of production 
from the exploiting capitalists. 

As opposed to the revolutionary socialism there is an 
evolutionary socialism. This school teaches that socialism 
Evolutionary is not to come suddenly by the method of bloody 
socialism. revolution, but by a gradual process of peaceful 
changes. Its advocates contend that monopolies are becom- 
ing more and more general, and that government regu- 
lation is being constantly widened. The nationalization of 
industries, they assert, is but a step from regulation. 
The changing status of public utilities is pointed to for 
proof of this view, which further predicts that one by one 
the State is to take over all important industries. The 
leading example of evolutionary socialism is the Fabian 
school of English socialists, including Bernard Shaw and 
Sidney and Beatrice Webb. The name is taken from the 
Roman general Fabius, who used the policy of delay against 
his brilliant Carthaginian opponent, Hannibal. Another 
group of evolutionary socialists have been termed Christian 
socialists. To this group of idealists, socialism is a spiri- 
tual as well as an economic evolution. Although many 
socialists have been accused of agnosticism, this little group 
of thinkers rest their case upon the doctrine of the father- 
hood of God and the brotherhood of man. 

Guild socialism represents another and more recent il- 
lustration of the growth of socialistic cults. Under the 
leadership of Mr. Cole, guild socialism has found much favor 
among English socialists. It may be, regarded as a reaction 



Proposed Economic Reconstruction of the State 351 

against the centralized bureaucracy of state socialism. Guild 
socialists claim that the factory system has robbed the 
worker of his freedom, and that the machine pro- Guild 
cess has killed the joy of workmanship, which sociatsm - 
lightened manufacture by hand in the days of the medieval 
guilds. Their cry is for self-government in industry. This 
could never be obtained by state socialism, which means 
the autocratic regulation of industries by cabinet ministers 
or state departments of industry. The state socialism of 
Germany is regarded as stifling the initiative of the indi- 
vidual worker. The governmental machinery of guild 
socialism is to be built upon the organizations of existing 
trades unions. Indeed, the movement has been described 
as an idealization and extension of trade unionism. Fore- 
men are to be elected by the workers, and there are to be 
shop committees and works committees. A national guild 
congress is to represent the workers of the various industries 
in some such way as the American Federation of Labor 
represents the different groups of workers in the United 
States. Sidney and Beatrice Webb in a recent book have 
attempted to sketch a constitution for their new socialistic 
commonwealth of Great Britain. The House of Commons 
is retained to represent the consumers, but the House of 
Lords is abolished in favor of a new national body to repre- 
sent organizations of producers. 

The divergence of the plans of the different socialists 
makes it difficult to generalize upon the alleged advantages 
and disadvantages of socialism. The gains claimed Alleged 

- . ,. . , , , . advantages: 

for it divide themselves into two groups, namely, Economic. 
the economic and the moral. In contrast to the present 
haphazard methods of production by more or less indepen- 
dent and competing companies, socialism offers an organ- 



352 Problems of American Democracy 

ized system of production by the State. The advocates of 
this system claim that under it natural resources would be 
more effectively conserved, and the wastes of competition 
eliminated. It is probably true that duplication of plants 
would be avoided, and the reduction of administrative 
expenses accomplished. Production, also, might be redi- 
rected into more effective channels for the attainment of 
social welfare. The socialist might sum up his case as 
follows: more goods, better goods, cheaper goods under 
more desirable working conditions, with shorter hours and 
higher wages. 

An appeal is made to the claims of social justice as well 
as to economic advantage, for socialism would have no 
glaring inequalities of wealth. There would be 
no leisure class living in idleness, nor unemployed 
persons looking in vain for a means of livelihood. Another 
alleged moral advantage of socialism is the appeal to the 
spirit of cooperation, rather than to that of competition and 
conflict. Production for profit may foster human selfish- 
ness, while socialism relies upon the individual's desire to 
contribute to the common good. Personal ambition would 
no longer seek to acquire wealth, but rather the social esteem 
that comes through conspicuous social service. The newly 
fostered fraternalism would make men live like brothers in 
the new social order. It would transcend state boundaries 
and pass from nation to nation until war should be no more. 

Students of society may well admire the ideals of social- 
ism, even though they fail to see how socialism will bring 
its hidden them to pass. We face a condition — not a theory, 
dangers. an( j we jj ve j n ^g p resen t — not in some future 

idealized state. Are men at present so constituted that 
they will work except under the stimulus of necessity and 



Proposed Economic Reconstruction of the State 353 

self interest? Do normal human beings enjoy toil for its 
own sake? Assuming that those members of society who 
do not work will not be permitted to live in such an ideal- 
istic commonwealth, who will apportion the tasks among 
the citizens of a socialistic state? Again, how will the 
value of a day's work be determined? If no interest is 
paid on capital, what inducements will there be to saving 
and to the accumulation of surplus wealth? Socialists 
have contended that saving will be done collectively, that 
is, the State will provide for capital goods as well as con- 
sumption goods. Here, again, we face a difficult problem 
of administration. In what manner, and by whom, will 
the course of production be directed? Other practical 
difficulties will suggest themselves to the thoughtful student. 
What can take the place of the genius of the American 
enterpriser, and how can the State bear the strain of con- 
ducting the giant industries? Behind the apparent plan- 
lessness of our economic system, there is a working mecha- 
nism hidden by its very complexity. Who can say what 
would result from its annihilation? It is safer ' to bear the 
ills we have than fly to others that we know not of." 

At present there are one or more socialist parties in every 
important nation. The earliest political development of 
socialism took place in Germany and France. 
Excluding Russia, the great political unknown, strength of 
it is still true that the strongholds of socialism Jn Euroj)e ' 
are upon the continent of Europe. Although 
Bismarck and the dethroned German emperor tried to 
fight the movement, it steadily grew in importance. In 
spite of the government's refusal to reapportion the seats 
in the Reichstag in accordance with changes in popula- 
tion, the number of socialist representatives increased. At 
x 



354 Problems of American Democracy 

the close of the century, the Social-Democratic party polled 
two million votes and, before the War, five million votes. 
Although the socialist deputies had persistently refused to 
vote for military appropriations, they were submerged dur- 
ing the World War. With the revolution and the forma- 
tion of the present German Republic, the situation changed 
completely when the government came into the hands of 
the more conservative socialistic elements. In France 
there have been a number of socialist factions of varying 
degrees of radicalism. Before the War, the socialist vote 
had increased enormously, and several socialists held posts 
in the national cabinet. During the period of the War, 
in France, as in Germany and most other countries, 
nationalism triumphed over socialism. With the end of 
hostilities, there were indications that the future would 
show an increase of strength upon the part of the socialist 
parties in both France and Italy. 

In England socialism has been overshadowed by the 

Labor Party, which is largely a development of trade 

, unionism. Up to the present time the majority 

and of the labor group in America has been opposed 

America. . , ... . 

to the formation of any separate political party. 
In addition to the Socialist Party, however, there is a 
Socialist Labor Party in the United States. Although 
neither of these two parties has attained much numerical 
strength, the socialist vote in this country has increased, 
and a socialist member has been sent to Congress. In 
conclusion, it must be remembered that a good portion 
of the strength of the socialist movement has spent itself 
indirectly in the cause of social reform. To be "social- 
istic" does not necessarily mean that one is a socialist, 
believing in the collective ownership of the means of pro- 



Proposed Economic Reconstruction of the State 355 

duction, but often merely indicates a general dissatisfac- 
tion with existing economic conditions. In America 
socialism itself is not crystallizing into any powerful, gov- 
erning group, but rather is its energy being dissipated by 
the gradual absorption of its less radical ideas into the 
common political consciousness. This means the slow 
death of the radical movement. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Differentiate between economic rent and the meaning of rent 
as ordinarily used. 

2. Why has rent been termed an unearned income? 

3. What do you understand by the "unearned increment"? 

4. Upon what grounds does the single taxer justify his proposal? 

5. What advantages can you see in such a program? 

6. Do you think that the appropriation of rent by the State 
would be a miscarriage of justice? Why or why not? 

7. What objections can you see to the single tax? 

8. How would private property rights under socialism be different 
from what they are at present? How different under the single tax? 

9. What is the essential in any definition of socialism? 

10. Upon what grounds do socialists criticize the present economic 
system? Which of these do you think is the strongest? 

11. What does the socialist understand by "wage slavery"? 

12. Do you think there is any justification for the above term? 

13. Contrast revolutionary with evolutionary socialism. 

14. Outline some of the leading schools of socialism. 

15. What economic advantages can you see in socialism? 

16. What economic disadvantages? 

17. In what ways, if at all, will socialism further the cause of 
social justice? How? 

18. Contrast the present motives to production with those under 
socialism. Which are the more exalted? Which the more effective? 

19. What do you regard as the chief objections to socialism? 

20. Sketch the progress of socialism upon the continent of Europe. 



356 Problems of American Democracy 

21. What is happening to socialism in England? In the United 
States? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Economic rent and the former Irish question. 

2. The life and work of Henry George. 

3. Applications of the single tax principle to-day. 

4. The relation between economic rent and the law of diminishing 
returns. 

5. Utopian socialists. 

6. The life and work of Karl Marx. 

7. Fabian socialists. 

8. Guild socialism. 

9. The state socialism of Germany. 
10. Socialism in the United States. 

REFERENCES 

Cole, G. D. H. Self Government in Industry. 

Cole, G. D. H. Social Theory. 

Cole, G. D. H. Guild Socialism. 

Ely, R. T. Socialism and Social Reform. 

George, H. Progress and Poverty. 

Hamilton, W. Current Economic Problems. 

Hillquit7 M. History of Socialism in the United States, 

Kirkup, T. History of Socialism. 

Laidler, H. W. Socialism in Thought and Action. 

Spargo, J. Syndicalism, Industrialism and Socialism. 

Taussig, F. W. Principles of Economics. 

Withers, H. The Case for Capitalism. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

Problems of Organized Labor 

I. The development of trade unionism 
i. Situation in Great Britain 

2. Status in the United States 

3. Early organizations 

4. American Federation of Labor: 

a. Development 

b. Organization 

5. Revolutionary unionism : 

a. Industrial Workers of the World 

b. Syndicalism 

II. The demands of labor 

1. Causes of conflict 

2. Wages 

3. Hours of work: 

a. Fatigue in industry 

b. The shorter working day 

4. Output 

5. Collective bargaining: 

a. " Walking delegates " 

b. Open and closed shops 

6. Working conditions 

7. Control over industry 

It has already been remarked that the Industrial Revo- 
lution and the introduction of the factory system caused 
a line of cleavage between the workers and the owners of 
the machinery. This has been reflected not only in the 

357 



358 Problems of American Democracy 

development of socialistic movements, but also in the 
growth of trade unionism. Modern capitalistic organiza- 
tion has been attended by a parallel development of labor 
organization. 

The Development of Trade Unionism. — With the 
development of capitalism the worker ceased to own the 
Situation instruments of production and thereby lost his 

in Great . . • . . , "L, 

Britain. position of economic independence. The cap- 
italist had a surplus of wealth and in periods of depression 
could afford to wait, while often the worker could not. The 
helplessness of the individual worker soon brought a realiza- 
tion that in union there lay strength. But in Great 
Britain, at the opening of the nineteenth century, the 
prevalent economic philosophy of laissez-faire was used 
against the trade unions. Under the assumptions of the 
classical school of political economy, wages were fixed by the 
supply of capital available for the employment of labor. Any 
arbitrary interference with this natural law of supply and 
demand was futile. Accordingly, labor organizations were 
regarded as criminal conspiracies by both the common and 
the statute law. Labor leaders were deported or sen- 
tenced to prison. The statutes prohibiting labor unions 
were repealed in 1825, but it was not until fifty years later 
that they acquired an assured legal position. Trade 
unions now enjoy a higher degree of freedom from legal 
restraint in the United Kingdom than in most other coun- 
tries. It has been written into law that no act in connec- 
tion with a trade dispute, which is not criminal if committed 
by an individual, shall be so regarded if committed by two 
or more persons acting in combination. 

The development of labor organization in America has 
not been checked to any appreciable extent by legal restric- 



Problems of Organized Labor 359 

tions. Although trade unions were, strictly speaking, com- 
binations in restraint of trade under the Sherman Anti- 
trust Law, this point was never pushed. The • 

' \ m r Status in 

great differences in the labor legislation of the the United 
various states in the American Union are 
reflected in the problems of labor unionism. Moreover, 
uniformity is prevented by the overlapping activities of 
the federal and state governments. The vexed question 
of the injunction is an illustration. As in Great Britain, 
there has been much discussion concerning the liability of 
trade unions. The Clayton Act, which has amended and 
superseded the Sherman Act, has been called by some 
writers the American Magna Charta of labor. It declares 
that a labor union is not to be regarded as a combination 
in restraint of trade. Furthermore, the Clayton Act 
restricts the uses of the injunction in labor disputes. 

Some theorists have attempted to trace trade unions 
back to the medieval guilds; but trade unionism as we 
know it to-day does not appear until after the Early or- 
Industrial Revolution. In the days of manufac- s amzatlons - 
turing by hand, master workers and apprentices worked 
side by side in the same shop. With the development of 
industry in America there appeared numerous small craft 
unions, in the organization of which may be read something 
of the fraternal spirit of the guilds. Attempts at the 
nationalization of the labor movement had appeared before 
the Civil War. The early trade unionist movement in 
America, however, temporarily lost its identity in the gen- 
eral uplift and communist movements of the ante-bellum 
period. The great industrial development which followed 
the Civil War was accompanied by a reorganization of labor 
upon a vaster scale than was ever known before. The 



360 Problems of American Democracy 

Noble Order of the Knights of Labor was founded by a 
Philadelphia tailor on Thanksgiving Day, 1869. It was 
at first a secret organization with a rather elaborate ritual. 
This was soon abandoned, and the movement spread from 
the garment workers to those of other trades. The ideal 
became that of an amalgamation of all workers into one 
great industrial organization. This organization was for a 
time very powerful and, in 1886, reached a membership 
of over half a million. Its government was very highly 
centralized, and internal dissensions arose as well as dif- 
ficulties with local trade unions. Although its membership 
and numbers rapidly waned, the Knights of Labor rep- 
resented a landmark in the labor movement. 

The American Federation of Labor was founded in 1881 
and grew rather slowly during the early years of its exist- 
ence. At the close of the century, however, 
Federation there were over half a million paid members, 
development. and over ei g nt v trades were affiliated in the 
organization. During the twentieth century 
there was a rapid increase in membership. In 19 10 the 
American Federation of Labor enjoyed a membership of 
about two millions. At the same time, the total number 
of persons gainfully employed was over thirty-eight mil- 
lions. Hence its membership represented only about 
five and one-half per cent of the total industrial popula- 
tion. Its numerical strength and importance, however, 
were larger than such a proportion would seem to indicate. 
Labor leaders claim that, in determining such a percentage, 
there should be eliminated employers, clerks, salaried 
workers, agricultural workers, domestic servants, and other 
extraneous groups. Nevertheless, it remains true that 
the majority of workers in America are unorganized, 



Problems of Organized Labor 361 

although the membership of the American Federation of 
Labor numbered over four and a half millions in 1920. 

The Knights of Labor was an industrial rather than a 
trade union, that is, it attempted an amalgamation of all 
workers without regard to craft. The American ' . . 

. Organization. 

Federation of Labor, on the other hand, is a 
rather loose confederation of a number of national trade 
unions. For the most part it is organized upon a craft 
basis, although certain powerful affiliated organizations, 
such as the United Mine Workers, are not so organized. 
The basic unit in the organization is the local trade union, 
which seeks to include all the workers of one craft in a given 
geographical district. Although these local unions are 
often united into a state and even into an international 
trade union, the national trade union may be regarded as 
the sovereign body. A great deal of local autonomy 
exists, as well as a variety of organization. At the annual 
convention of the American Federation of Labor each 
national trade union is allowed one delegate for each four 
thousand paid-up members or fraction thereof. Officers 
are elected and permanent headquarters maintained in 
Washington. The revenue is derived from a per capita 
assessment upon the membership of the affiliated bodies. 
Trade unions may be classified according to organiza- 
tion and policy. The Industrial Workers of the World 
affords a most unpleasant contrast to the Amer- 
ican Federation of Labor in both these respects, tionary 
Its organization is that of an industrial union Industriai ' 
rather than that of a trade or craft union. It Workers of 

the World. 

seeks to unite all the workers of the nation and, 
indeed, of the entire world into one big union. As con- 
trasted with the American Federation of Labor, it has 



362 Problems of American Democracy 

made its appeal to the unskilled and immigrant workers. 
It employs the weapon of the general strike against the 
existing capitalistic system. Although the American 
Federation of Labor insists upon the principle of collective 
bargaining and resorts to the strike to gain its object, it 
does not seek to overthrow the existing industrial system. 
The Industrial Workers of the World, however, would 
abolish both the employer and the wage system. The 
pernicious practice of sabotage, or destruction of property, 
is openly advocated and secretly employed to gain the 
desired end. The origin of this term can be found in the 
French word meaning wooden shoe. " Dropping a monkey 
wrench into the machinery" is the equivalent American 
expression. If the demands of the worker are not acceded 
to, he may secretly destroy the machinery or goods of the 
employer. It is almost impossible to conceive of a more 
dastardly practice. In 191 7 the American membership 
in this organization numbered sixty thousand. This figure 
cannot be taken as authoritative, however, for the mem- 
bership of the Industrial Workers of the World is unstable 
and variable. Moreover, the force of public opinion and 
the strong arm of the law have developed a policy of secrecy 
and a resort to underground channels of activity. 

The Industrial Workers of the World in America cor- 
respond to the syndicalists of France and Italy. Between 
both of these movements and the Bolshevism 

Syndicalism. . . 

of Russia there are certain points of similarity. 
The term syndicalism comes from the French word meaning 
labor union. Direct action upon the part of the proletariat, 
or laboring class, against the bourgeoisie, or middle class, 
is advocated in the form of the general strike and sabotage. 
Syndicalism preaches class solidarity of all workers and 



Problems of Organized Labor 363 

discards national patriotism. Indeed, it would destroy the 
State as we know it to-day and substitute for it the col- 
lective ownership of industry, with government by the 
workers. 

The Demands of Labor. — Both labor and capital are 
equally essential in the modern production of wealth. 
Instead of a close and friendly cooperation causes of 
between the workers and the owners of the confllct - 
instruments of production, unfortunately their relations 
have often been marked by open conflicts. Division of 
labor, large scale production, and the corporate form of 
business organization have largely eliminated the former 
personal relationships between employers and employees 
which prevailed before the Industrial Revolution. Both 
laborers and capitalists have at times shown a considerable 
ignorance of the problems faced by the other side. Self- 
interest is a human, not a class, characteristic. Conse- 
quently both sides have been guilty of frequent displays 
of selfishness. Of recent years, however, a number of 
attempts have been made to understand the problems and 
point of view of the opposing sides. To the student of 
American democracy, the interdependence of labor and 
capital is self-evident. Therefore, it is important to con- 
sider at length some of the more disturbing issues which 
have served to mar this harmonious relationship. 

One of the most common causes of industrial disputes 
is found in the problem of wages. Socialists have claimed 
that labor is the source of all wealth and have 
sought to convert into wages the entire stream 
of national income. On the other hand, conservatives 
contend that, unless increased wages cause increased pro- 
duction, they can not justly be granted at the expense of 



364 Problems' of American Democracy 

rent, interest, or profits. Economic theories of distribu- 
tion give various explanations of how wages are determined. 
Assuming that there is a competitive rate of wages for a 
certain kind of labor at a given time, how can it be deter- 
mined? Can a labor union raise wages above that level 
without unjust social and economic consequences? On 
the other hand, it is a fact that a number of individuals 
and families receive wages too low to maintain a decent 
standard of living. The exact wage that should in fair- 
ness be granted to labor is a matter for careful study at 
any given time within any given industry. In practice, 
tradition and compromise are important factors. 

The effects of the capitalistic process upon labor are two- 
fold. In the first place, the invention of machinery makes 
possible the production of the same quantity of 
of work: goods, or more, in a much shorter time than under 
Fatigue in the old system of production by hand. Hence 

industry. J x J 

the gains of the Industrial Revolution should be 
reflected in a shorter working day. Again, labor is more 
fatiguing under modern conditions of production. Division of 
labor may consist of endless repetitions of the same act, 
so that there is not enough change to give mental variety 
or physical relief. Moreover, by the use of machinery it 
is possible to speed up the employee to his greatest exer- 
tion by forcing the human fingers to keep up to those of 
iron and steel. Under these conditions fatigue sets in early. 
Charts have been traced to illustrate the rise and fall of 
the fatigue curve. During the last few hours of continuous 
labor the fatigue curve is highest, and hence the greatest 
number of accidents occur at that time. Fatigue is physi- 
ological, the result of a toxin in the blood caused by con- 
tinuous physical or mental exertion. Rest is imperative 



Problems of Organized Labor 365 

in order to allow nature to do the work of recuperation 
and to rebuild the worn out cell tissue. A greater leisure 
time is therefore necessary for both recreation and education. 



Compressor Generating Air-Power for Drills in the Coal Mines of Pa. 

With the development of trade unionism came the short- 
ening of the working day. In 1847, the British law The shorter 
provided a ten-hour day for women, which time wor mg ay ' 
gradually became the working day for men also. Although 
the State has determined the hours of work in the case of 
women and children, it has been loath to fix the minimum 
working day for men. Government has hesitated to inter- 
fere with the right of free contract in the case of those who 
are strong enough to take care of themselves. With the 
weapon of collective bargaining, however, labor unions 



366 Problems of American Democracy 

have steadily reduced the length of the working day for 
men. It is not surprising to find that this varies not only 
in the different American states, but also among the 
different occupations. The length of the working day in 
any industry is a rough test of the strength of the labor 
organization concerned. Unorganized trades suffer most. 
For a number of years the steel industry permitted long 
hours of work and even double labor shifts. It is impos- 
sible to say definitely that any certain number of hours 
constitute a proper universal working day. Conditions vary 
in different industries, and fatigue sets in earlier in the 
case of the more strenuous occupations. This is another 
reason for the reluctance of government to fix a legal 
working day. The eight-hour day, however, has won legal 
recognition in most parts of Australia and the favor of 
public opinion in America. It is felt that, 

"Eight hours for work, eight hours for play, 
Eight hours for sleep, make up the full day" 

Restriction of output has been defended by labor unions 
as a counter weapon against the employers' policy of 
speeding up. Pace setting is done by encouraging 
certain men to work hard, and by occasionally 
paying them higher wages, in order to set a fast pace for 
the other workers on the same machines. The abuses of 
this system are common in the "sweated " industries. The 
employee who cannot keep up to the pace is discharged. 
Organized labor, however, has retaliated by trying to decide 
what amount of output shall constitute a day's work in any 
particular occupation. Thus, the laying of a certain number 
of bricks, and no more, may be considered as a fair day's 
work by the union laborer. Such a policy has been regarded 



Problems of Organized Labor 367 

as a leveling down process, as compared with the leveling 
up process of pace setting. For this purpose the capacity 
of the poorest worker may be chosen. Again, there may 
be the mistaken economic philosophy of "making work". 
The restriction of output only apparently creates additional 
employment. Moreover, it raises prices and lowers the real 
wages of all workers. Both restriction of output and 
speeding up are unsocial and unfortunate policies. Human 
capacities and abilities differ so greatly that any fixed pace 
may work injustice. 

Another bone of contention between capital and labor 
may be found in the vague expression of collective bar- 
gaining. This may be interpreted as the making 
of an agreement between two groups by their bargaining : 
chosen representatives. Such a broad inter- "Walking 

delegates 

pretation would even include such agreements as 
international treaties. On the other hand, it seems almost 
impossible to obtain general agreement upon a specific 
definition of what collective bargaining in industry implies. 
Labor seems to interpret collective bargaining as meaning 
the closed shop and the right to employ "walking dele- 
gates." There are many employers who openly avow 
their belief in collective bargaining, but who refuse to treat 
with the professional labor leader who goes from one group 
to another organizing one strike after another. They 
declare their readiness to meet the elected representatives 
of their own workers, but refuse to deal with any one 
outside their own plant. On the other hand, labor unions 
claim that the principle of collective bargaining stands or 
falls with the right to employ a trained professional labor 
leader. It is held that no employee would dare to organize 
his fellow employees for a strike, or for advancing their 



368 Problems of American Democracy 

claims against those of the employer, because of the risk 
involved in such an undertaking. 

The open shop is one in which both union and non-union 
men may be employed without discrimination. The closed 
open and shop is one in which only union men are era- 
dosed shops. pi oye( L if tne employer agrees to take on 

union men only, it makes him virtually dependent upon 
the unions for the choice of his workers. Moreover, 
his power of discharge is similarly limited. The closed 
shop approximates a labor monoply and gives the union 
great power over wages, hours, output, and general working 
conditions. In a recent national conference between labor 
and capital, a split occurred upon the interpretation of 
collective bargaining, which labor held implied the closed 
shop. The American Federation of Labor endorses the 
closed shop as one of its policies, while the National 
Association of Manufacturers tries to further the extension 
of the open shop. 

Many of the evils of unsanitary and dangerous working 
conditions may be limited by prohibitory legislation. Later 
Working ' chapters will discuss such problems as dangerous 
conditions, trades, industrial risks, and the competition of 
non-union labor. Trade unions have, however, often 
brought pressure to bear in favor of social legislation. 
On the other hand, they have often been so engrossed in 
the discussion of wages and hours of work that compara- 
tively little attention has been paid to general working 
conditions. The legislative restrictions of the different 
states concerning them are often more the work of humani- 
tarians than of labor leaders. 

A new phase of the problem of organized labor is the 
desire of the workers to participate in the management of 



Problems of Organized Labor 369 

industry. Guild socialism illustrates the theory of the self- 
governing work shop. At the conclusion of the World War 
a plan was presented in Congress by which the 
railroad workers might take over the operation over 

industry. 

of the national railroad system. This failed, 
however, to meet with popular approval. But in 
England there has been a long and strenuous effort on 
the part of the mine workers to secure the nationalization 
of the mines. Although the problem of control, or partici- 
pation in the control of industry, has not been of great 
importance in the past history of labor movements, it 
promises to be one of the great questions of the future. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. What disadvantages does the individual worker have in bar- 
gaining? 

2. What was the early attitude toward labor unions in Great 
Britain? 

3. What is the present attitude toward labor in that country? 

4. Sketch the early development of trade unions in America. 

5. Contrast an industrial with a craft union. 

6. Explain the organization of the American Federation of Labor. 

7. Trace its gradual development. 

8. What proportion of American workers is organized? 

9. Compare the Industrial Workers of the World with the 
American Federation of Labor. 

10. What is revolutionary unionism? Give some examples. 

11. Give the chief reasons for the conflict of interests between 
labor and capital. 

12. Why has the working day become shorter since the Industrial 
Revolution? 

13. Explain pace setting and the restriction of output. 

14. What do you understand by collective bargaining? 

15. Upon what does it depend? 

16. Do you believe in "walking delegates"? Why or why not? 

Y 



370 Problems of American Democracy 

17. What have labor unions actually accomplished in this country? 

18. How can labor unions increase wages? 

19. Can wages be increased without decreasing the other shares 
of distribution? 

20. Why should the working day be shorter now than formerly? 

21. How much has the labor union done to improve working 
conditions? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1 . The Knights of Labor. 

2. The Clayton Act and its effect upon organized labor. 

3. The organization and workings of some trade union in your 
community. 

4. The evolution of the eight-hour day. 

5. The open versus the closed shop. 

6. Syndicalism in Europe. 

7. The soviet idea in Russia. 

8. The present labor situation in England. 

9. A comparison of the labor movement abroad and in America. 
10. Instances of the participation of labor in the management of 

industry in America. 

REFERENCES 

Carlton, F. T. History and Problems of Organized Labor. 
Ely, R. T. The Labor Movement in America. 
Hamilton, W. Current Economic Problems. 
Hoxie, R. F. Trade Unionism. 
Mitchell, J. Organized Labor. 
Seager, H. R v Principles of Economics. 
Taussig, F. W. Principles of Economics. 
Webb, S. and B. History of Trade Unionism. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

The Cooperation of Labor and Capital 

I. Weapons of industrial conflict 
i. Boycotts and blacklists 

2. Strikes and lockouts 

3. Use of the injunction 

II. Social cost of industrial conflict 

1 . To the employer 

2. To the worker 

3 . To the public 

III. The promotion of industrial peace 

1 . Commissions on industrial relations : 

a. Their origin 

b. Effect of World War 

2. Compulsory arbitration : 

a. New Zealand 

b. Kansas Court of Industrial Relations 

3. Shop committees: 

a. The Whitley plan 

b. Other examples 

4. Profit sharing: 

a. A common form 

b. Other methods 

IV. The cooperative movement 

1. Its origin 

2. Success in Europe 

3. Situation in the United States 

4. Conclusion 



372 Problems of American Democracy 

Another problem of American democracy is the recon- 
ciliation of the apparently conflicting interests of labor and 
capital. With the growth of labor unions there has gone 
on the development of employers' associations. Labor 
disputes, like those of international polity, admit of two 
methods of settlement. On the one hand, there may be an 
appeal to force or a resort to industrial conflict. On the 
other hand, there may be an appeal to reason, or an 
adjustment by arbitration and compromise. Industrial as 
well as military wars entail an enormous loss to productive 
societies. 

Weapons of Industrial Conflict. — A boycott is the 

organized refusal of a number of persons to purchase goods 

from certain individual producers or corporations . 

and It may be used by the general public as a revolt 

blacklists 

against monopoly price. On the other hand, it 
may be used by a group of workers or by a trade union in 
order to bring an employer to their terms by checking his 
sales and profits. The boycott may be positive as well as 
negative. It may take the form of patronizing only those 
manufacturers who are sympathetic toward labor. 
Furthermore, workers may be urged to buy only union- 
made articles. Again, the Consumers' League publishes a 
"white list" containing the names of the firms which do 
not violate factory laws or employ child labor. The black 
list is a counter weapon, which the employers can use 
against the boycott of the employees. Employers may list 
the names of former workers who have become objection- 
able because of union activities or for some other causes. 
Such men may 'also be refused employment by other 
employers. 

Both strikes and lockouts mean an organized cessation 



The Cooperation of Labor and Capital 



373 



of work. The causes and effects of these may be the same ; 
but in the first case, the initiative is taken by the workers 
and, in the latter case, by the employers. When strikes and 
the agreement is made by the individual and not lockouts - 
by the process of collective bargaining, such a situation is 
impossible. Labor leaders have vigorously defended the 
right to strike and have attributed many of the gains of 




A Mob of Strikers 



labor to this weapon. The local union regularly collects 
dues in order to pay strike benefits during such crises. The 
various employers' associations also have funds with which 
to fight strikes. Frequently the capitalist is in a much better 
position than the laborer to wait and suffer the losses of 
unproductive idleness. If the employer does not care to 
shut down his plant, he is forced to employ non-union men. 



374 Problems of American Democracy 

Strike breakers may be imported on a considerable scale, 
although they are derided as "scabs" by the strikers and 
their sympathizers. Picketing is an attempt of the strikers 
to intercept the other workers and to get them to quit their 
positions. It may take the form of persuasion, but fre- 
quently the practice leads to intimidation and to acts of 
violence. 

Another weapon of the employer is the injunction. This 
is an order from the court to do, or to cease from doing, 
"Use of the some* particular thing. Any one who violates 
injunction. suc \ i an or( j er becomes guilty of contempt of 
court and can be punished without recourse to the usual 
cumbersome judicial routine. The injunction is designed 
to permit quick action against something which threatens 
to result in irremediable damage. Although some specific 
act may be mentioned, "blanket" injunctions have some- 
times been issued. Labor resents the frequent use by the 
courts of this emergency power. 

Social Cost of Industrial Conflict. — Even assuming 
that the strike is attended by no loss of property upon the 
To the part of the employer, the cessation of production 

emp oyer. ^ oes no t mean the cessation of expenses. Finan- 
cial losses take the place of profits. Moreover, the loss 
may be more or less permanent, because former customers 
may have formed the habit of purchasing elsewhere. Thus, 
in 1902, during the great anthracite coal strike a number 
of manufacturers had new furnaces installed in order that 
they might burn bituminous coal. After the strike, they 
continued the consumption of soft coal. Even if the 
employer does emerge victorious from the strike, his staff 
of regular employees is shattered. A number of his best 
workmen have gone elsewhere. 



The Cooperation of Labor and Capital 375 

If this strike is protracted, it may be nothing less than 
a calamity to the worker and his family. The strike benefits 
provided by the union are a very slim and pre- to the 
carious source of revenue. Past savings are worker - 
soon used up in providing for the present needs of this 
period of enforced idleness. If the strike is successful, the 
worker may be repaid in the form of increased wages. If 
the strike is unsuccessful, he may suffer not only financial 
loss but also possible loss of employment. 

The public is affected in many ways by a strike. The 
most obvious effect is in the curtailing of production. 
Considerable hardship may be suffered if the To the 
commodity or service produced is essential. public - 
Moreover, when the wheels of production again revolve, 
the consumer may find that the price of the goods has 
been raised to pay for the losses of the strike, or for 
the increase in wages granted. Finally, the general spirit 
of violence may lead to the destruction of property, if not 
of human lives. Crime and poverty rates for the affected 
locality show an increase during such industrial crises. A 
spirit of class bitterness is engendered, which may continue 
long after the causes of the dispute have been forgotten. 

The Promotion of Industrial Peace. — From May to 
October, 1902, the country suffered severely from the 
effects of a strike of the anthracite miners in „ 

Commis- 

Pennsylvania. Finallv, President Roosevelt sions ° n 

industrial 

threw aside precedent and appointed the famous relations : 
Anthracite Coal Strike Commission. Both sides Their origin - 
agreed to accept the final verdict, and the miners went 
back to work. A great wave of popular approval showed 
that the time was ripe for government action of some sort 
to facilitate better industrial relations in essential indus- 



376 Problems of American Democracy 

tries. At present, most of the individual states have passed 
laws which provide various opportunities for industrial 
conciliation or arbitration. These may take the form of 
permanent state boards or commissions upon industrial 
relations, or they may provide for the appointment of such 
commissions temporarily for the duration of an industrial 
conflict. 

The World War gave this whole movement a new impetus, 
for the cooperation of labor and capital became imperative. 
Effect of It was evident that strikes and lockouts would 
World War. p reven t or delay the successful conclusion of 
the war. A War Labor Conference Board was appointed 
and had its first sitting in February, 191 8. It consisted 
of five members representing the employers of the nation, 
nominated by the National Industrial Conference, five rep- 
resentatives of organized labor, nominated by the American 
Federation of Labor, and two other members. This body 
was continued in the National War Labor Board, which 
tried to harmonize the interests of employers and employees 
during the War. After the armistice, this body ceased to 
function and President Wilson called a National Industrial 
Conference in Washington, October, 19 19. This was a 
three-fold body, representing labor, employers, and the 
general public. A steel strike was then in progress, and 
the conference was ended by the abrupt withdrawal of the 
labor group after it had failed to secure acceptance of its 
interpretation of collective bargaining. With the return of 
the railroads to private ownership, provision was made for 
the Federal Labor Board. In a previous chapter, its three- 
fold composition has been described. 

Compulsory arbitration is one way out of industrial, as 
well as of military, conflicts. The pioneer in this field 



The Cooperation of Labor and Capital 377 

was New Zealand, which passed a law in 1894 that made 
strikes and lockouts misdemeanors. Employers, as well 
as employees, are organized into what are known 
as " industrial unions." In case of an industrial sory arbi- 
dispute either side may ask for the intervention ^^zeaiand 
of special officers, who are known as commis- 
sioners of conciliation, three of whom are appointed by the 
governor for the whole country. One of these commissioners 
proceeds to the scene of the dispute and tries to effect a 
settlement. If his individual efforts are unsuccessful, he then 
organizes a council of conciliation, composed of an equal 
number of representatives from both sides. If either side 
refuses to accept the decision of this body, a final appeal is 
made to the central court of arbitration. The presiding 
officer is a judge of the supreme court, and the other two 
members are appointed by the governor to represent both 
sides of the controversy. This court is a very important 
tribunal and has power to examine a company's books and 
to subpoena witnesses. There is no appeal from its award, 
which becomes binding upon both parties for a specified 
length of time. Indeed, the award may be extended to 
embrace other trades in the same locality or throughout the 
country. An attempt to change the conditions by a strike 
or lockout is a serious and punishable misdemeanor. 

In January, 1920, the legislature of the state of Kansas 
passed an act providing for compulsory arbitration in indus- 
trial disputes affecting public interest. The act 
establishes a Court of Industrial Relations, which courtlf 
can decide disputes in the case of vital industries, ^iatiom. 
If necessary, it can take control of the industries 
where the rulings of the court are not obeyed. A group of 
individuals may stop work, but concerted action in the 



378 Problems of American Democracy 

form of an organized strike to hinder the operation of such 
an industry is unlawful. The three members of this court 
are chosen by the governor of the state. Although this law 
has been bitterly attacked by organized labor, the experi- 
ment is being watched with great interest by its advocates 
in other states. It articulates the new feeling that the public 
has certain rights in an industrial conflict, which can no 
longer be construed as " a private war between capital and 
labor." 

The War brought home to Great Britain also the neces- 
sity for a closer cooperation between capital and labor. 
A committee of Parliament drew up what was 
mittees: known as the Whitley plan. This provides not 
l pian hy on ly ^ or na -tional joint industrial councils of 

employers and employees in the different trades, 
but also for district and workshop committees. In each case 
the council is composed of an equal number of representa- 
tives of the employers and employees, with an impartial 
chairman. The Colorado Industrial Plan, adopted some 
time ago by several Rockefeller interests, is somewhat 
similar to the English plan. Representatives are chosen by 
secret ballot from among the employees of each plant. Joint 
committees of the representatives and an equal number of 
the officers of the company are organized in each plant. 

As recently as 19 10 the Hart, Schaffner and Marx Com- 
pany formulated a plan for industrial conciliation and arbi- 
other tration in connection with the United Garment 

exampes. Workers. When a grievance arises, the worker 
reports the fact to his representative who takes up the 
matter with the shop superintendent. If the matter is not 
settled, it can be carried before a pair of delegates who 
represent both the employer and the employee. The final 



The Cooperation of Labor and Capital 379 

authority resides in the Trade Board which consists of 
eleven members, all of whom except the chairman must be 
in the employ of the company. Of this number five are 
selected by the company and five by the employees. Numer- 
ous other illustrations may be found of the democratic 
organization of modern industry, and of the participation 
by the workers in its control. Details of organization differ, 
but there are two general characteristics. In the first place, 
as contrasted with governmental commissions, this is a 
movement from the bottom up, not superimposed from 
above. In the second place, there is a greater chance to 
observe industrial difficulties and to check them before the 
situation becomes serious. It is especially true in the case 
of industrial conflict that " an ounce of prevention is worth 
a pound of cure." 

In the case of the White Motor Company and the 
Browning Company of Cleveland, not only has the shop 
committee been introduced, but also the prin- 
ciple of profit sharing. In the case of the latter sharing: 
company, profits are shared every three months, £"™ wow 
and the percentage allowed each worker increases 
with his length of service. The company's balance sheet is 
placed in the hands of the shop committee for consideration 
and discussion. The integrity of the officers of the company 
is unquestioned by the employees. Indeed, confidence and 
fair play are essential in any plan of shop management or 
profit sharing. The purpose of profit sharing is to give the 
employee an added incentive to efficient production. The 
most common arrangement has been what is known as the 
sliding scale of wages with a standard minimum wage. 
The percentage of profit that an employee is to share is 
determined in advance, but the actual payment is not 



380 Problems of American Democracy 

made until sometime afterward when the books have been 
settled. The sliding scale of wages is generally deter- 
mined by the price of the product. Such an arrangement 
does not always work well, however, for profits do not 
always vary directly with prices. 

Some employers have attempted to share all the returns 
with the employees. Such a scheme has not been found 
other to work well, for while the employees are willing 

methods. tQ g^g j-j^ p ron t Sj they are usually not willing 
or able to share the losses. A smaller degree of profit shar- 
ing for the employee, coupled with the guarantee of a 
minimum wage, has been found to be a more workable 
compromise. Profit sharing may take the form of an issue 
of stock as well as the payment of money wages. This has 
been practiced for a number of years by the John B. Stetson 
Hat Company of Philadelphia. Another form of profit 
sharing can be found in France, where sometimes a certain 
proportion of the profits is placed in an insurance fund for 
the protection of the employees against ill health or old age. 
In 19 14 the Ford Motor Company announced its intention 
to distribute annually ten million dollars to its workers in 
addition to their usual wages. Such schemes of profit shar- 
ing promise much for the future. At present, they have 
been worked out to a limited extent in the case of the 
skilled industries, and only with successful companies. As 
the degree of profit shared depends somewhat upon the 
employee's length of service, the effect of the plan is to 
diminish the great labor turnover. Profit sharingmakes 
little appeal to the roving and mobile group of laborers. 

The Cooperative Movement. — Labor copartnership 
or cooperation goes a step further than profit sharing and 
attempts to dispense with the employer and to absorb private 



The Cooperation of Labor and Capital 381 

profits entirely. The movement may be said to date from 
1844, when the famous Rochdale Cooperative Store was 
founded by twenty-eight pioneers. The plan 
devised by this little group of flannel weavers 
became the model for thousands of similar cooperative 
stores in all parts of the world. The capital necessary for 
the undertaking was subscribed in small shares by pro- 
spective purchasers. A fixed rate of five per cent was to 
be paid on this capital before any profits should be declared. 
Democracy of management is illustrated in the cooperative 
plan by the accepted principle of one person, one vote. 
The prices charged for goods in the cooperative stores are 
the current prices of the locality. At the end of a quarter 
profits are computed over and above the expenses of 
management and the interest upon the capital stock. 
The surplus is divided among the stockholders in propor- 
tion to the purchases made and not according to the 
amount of stock held. 

From a very small beginning the Rochdale Cooperative 
Stores have grown to be a great enterprise. They have 
increased enormously in numbers, membership, success in 
capital invested, and in their scope of work. It Eur °P e - 
is a notable fact that the British cooperative stores can 
secure upon their managing committees men of sufficient 
business ability to make the scheme a success. Cooper- 
ative retail stores were followed by cooperative wholesale 
societies. This was begun in 1864 and its success was 
almost immediate. From buying its goods wholesale from 
manufacturers, the society soon passed into the stage 
where it could do its own manufacturing. It now manu- 
factures food products, shoes, clothing, and it even owns 
its own ships and tea plantations in Ceylon. The English 



382 Problems of American Democracy 

Cooperative Wholesale Society was followed a few years 
later by one in Scotland which has been equally successful. 
In Denmark, the dairy farmers have organized cooperative 
creameries, while in Germany cooperative banking has had 
its highest development. 

In no other country has cooperation among consumers 

been carried so far as in Great Britain, and in no other 

country has it been so little advanced as in the 

in United United States. The better organization of retail 

States. . ..... 

business in American cities has militated against 
the cooperative stores movement. Again, a less homoge- 
neous and settled population has been another factor in the 
situation. Finally, the higher wages of American workmen 
have not made economical consumption so imperative as 
in Europe. With the increased cost of living, however, 
and the advent of war-time profiteering, a considerable 
impetus was given to the cooperative movement in Amer- 
ica. But perhaps the most serious drawback to this move- 
ment in America is the failure of cooperation in the field 
of production. It is here that the United States has most 
signally failed. 

In concluding our discussion of the cooperative relations 

that should exist in general between labor and capital, it 

is well to bear in mind the words of Theodore 

Conclusion. 1 1 it t<- 

Roosevelt, whose whole life exemplified a passion 
for social justice. Let him speak for himself: "In our 
industrial activities, alike of farmer, wageworker, and 
business man, our aim should be cooperation among our- 
selves and control by the State to the degree necessary, 
but not beyond the degree necessary, in order to prevent 
tyranny and yet to encourage and reward individual 
merit." 



The Cooperation of Labor and Capital 383 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Review some of the principal causes of industrial disputes. 

2. In what ways may they be settled? 

3 . Explain some of the weapons of the employer. 

4. Explain some of the weapons of the employee. 

5. Illustrate some of the evil consequences of strikes. 

6. Show the cost to both employer and employee. 

7. Show the advantages of industrial cooperation over industrial 
conflict. 

8. Show how capital and labor are mutually dependent. 

9. Name some of the commissions of the federal government 
upon industrial relations. Explain the functions of each. 

10. Explain the compulsory arbitration plan of New Zealand, 
n. What has been done along this line in the United States? 

12. Explain the Colorado Industrial Plan. 

13. What are the advantages of shop committees? 

14. What are the advantages of profit sharing? 

15. What is the most common method of sharing profits? 

16. Explain some other forms of profit sharing. 

17. What limits do you see to the extension of the principle of 
profit sharing? 

18. Explain the Rochdale Cooperative Stores. 

19. Where has the movement reached its greatest success? 

20. Why has not the cooperative movement made greater progress 
in the United States? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The use of the injunction in labor disputes. 

2. The social cost of a recent strike. 

3. The National War Labor Board. 

4. The Kansas Court of Industrial Relations. 

5. The Whitley Plan of Great Britain. 

6. Plans of employees' representation in organizations with which 
you are familiar. 

7. Concrete illustrations of profit sharing in your community. 

8. Examples of Roosevelt's attitude toward labor and capital. 

9. The Adamson Act and its method. 



384 Problems of American Democracy 

10. The present attitude of government toward labor and capital 
in America. 

REFERENCES 

Carlton, F. C. History and Problems of Organized Labor. 
Fay, C. F. Cooperation at Home and Abroad. 
Gilman, N. P. Profit Sharing. 
Gilman, N. P. A Dividend to Labor. 
Hamilton, W. Current Economic Problems. 
Schloss, D. F. Methods of Industrial Remuneration, 
Taussig, F. W. Principles of Economics. 
Webb, C. Industrial Cooperation. 



CHAPTER XXX 

The Conservation of Labor 

I. The early situation in England 

i. Social effects of the Industrial Revolution 
2. Parliamentary legislation 
II. Child labor in the United States 
i. History and extent 

2. Causes and remedies 

3. The effects 

4. Recent legislation 

5. A model law 

III. Women in industry 

1. Resemblance to child labor 

2. The sweat shop 

3. Low wages 

4. New occupations 

IV. Welfare work 

1. Meaning 

2. Illustrations 

A consideration of the problem of the conservation of 
human labor reveals a number of maladjustments — 
economic, social, and political — in American democracy. 
The exploitation of women and children in industry, the 
sweat shop, low wages, dangerous occupations, and unem- 
ployment are phenomena illustrating lack of adjustment 
in human society. The economic and social effects of such 
conditions are reflected in low standards of living, in indus- 
trial accidents, and in general economic and social dis- 

Z 385 



386 Problems of American Democracy 

content. The political phase of the problem is summed up 
in the word "regulation." Government regulation of cer- 
tain industrial conditions is essential to the preservation of 
many workers from physical, as well as social, degeneracy. 
The Early Situation in England. — The early social 
effects of the Industrial Revolution upon England were 

alarming. The first factories were unhealthful 
effects of and the housing conditions equally bad. Hours 
Revolution. °f l a b° r were so long that a working day of 

twelve, thirteen, and fourteen hours was not 
unusual. Great evils due to child labor and women in indus- 
try sprang into existence. Children were sent into the 
factories by their parents at the age of eight and indeed 
younger. Pauper children from the poor houses were 
bound over to the manufacturers into a virtual slavery. 
They were given food of the coarsest description, often 
eaten while the machinery was in motion. The children 
were abused and driven to their work which lasted twelve 
hours a day. Accidents were frequent, disease common, 
and the excessive toil often put an early end to their 
unhappy lot. In the mines equally bad conditions were 
found by an investigating committee. Women and men 
worked side by side almost naked in the damp unwhole- 
some shafts of the mine. A part of the work of the smaller 
women and children was to drag carts of coal through the 
underground passages frequently three feet or less in 
height. Little girls carried a halfhundred weight of coal 
up steep ladders to the surface. A mere recital of this 
testimony before Parliament made unnecessary any dis- 
cussion of the desirability of reform in mining conditions. 
But in spite of the real dangers of the new industrial 
conditions, England was rather loath to pass social legisla- 



The Conservation of Labor 387 

tion for their betterment. The laissez-faire theory of 
government was popular. It held that government regula- 
tion of industrial conditions would interfere with _, ,. 

Parhamen- 

England's industrial supremacy. This attitude tary legis- 
was consistent with the national policy of free 
trade and the repeal of the corn laws. Greedy manufac- 
turers prophesied disaster if they should be deprived of 
their supply of female labor. But the fear of physical 
degeneracy of the workers at length made government 
action imperative. A famous factory law was passed the 
year following the Great Reform Bill of 1832. No chil- 
dren under nine years of age were to be employed, and 
those from nine to thirteen were to work only eight hours 
a day. Young persons from thirteen to eighteen were not 
to work over twelve hours, and none of these at night. A 
corps of inspectors was created, and factory regulation 
became a reality. A subsequent act of 1847 limited the 
work of women to ten hours a day. Since it was unprofit- 
able to work the factories by men alone, without the aid 
of women and children, a ten-hour day gradually became 
the common standard for all. In 1842 a law had already 
been passed regulating labor in mines. It prohibited all 
underground work by females and by boys under thirteen. 
In recent years the British Parliament has passed other 
factory laws, and the new era of government regulation 
has been strikingly characterized by an increasing amount 
of social and humanitarian legislation. 

Child Labor in the United States. — The early effects 
of the factory system in America somewhat resembled the 
conditions already described in England. History 
Although the opening of our mines was not and extent - 
attended by such horrors as prevailed in the Old World, 



3 88 



Problems of American Democracy 



the early situation in the textile mills was reprehensible. 
In New England, where manufacturing began, children 
under sixteen often worked twelve, thirteen, and fourteen 
hours a day. The first important legislation upon child 
labor in this country was passed by Massachusetts in 1836. 
More stringent laws were subsequently enacted, and other 

states followed her ex- 
ample. But America 
labors under a peculiar 
disadvantage in securing 
such legislation. Many 
social questions, which 
in Europe are matters 
of national legislation, 
in our own country fall 
within the sphere of state 
action. Hence great 
variations occur in the 
realm of laws dealing 
with child labor, women 
in industry, and like 
problems. The action 
of the federal govern- 
ment in such matters 
can be obtained only 
by a constitutional 
amendment, or by a liberal interpretation of its control 
over interstate commerce. At present, therefore, the child 
labor situation varies with the different laws of the 
different states. New England, which in this regard 
formerly held an unenviable reputation, has now by appro- 
priate legislation materially improved the child labor 




A Breaker Boy 



The Conservation of Labor 



389 



situation. With the growth of an industrial South, this 
evil has appeared in the southern cotton mills to an alarm- 
ing extent. Much of the cotton is also picked by child 
labor. In several southern states the National Child 
Labor Committee estimates that half of the children 
between ten and thirteen years of age in that section may 




A Child Carrying a Man's Load 



be classified as wage earners. A large proportion of child 
labor is used in agriculture, but this is not considered so 
harmful in its physical effects as life in the mill. Many 
children in country regions leave school, temporarily or 
permanently, for the occupation of fruit and berry-picking. 
Many are also at work, legally or illegally, in the great 
canneries of the South and Middle States. 



390 Problems of American Democracy 

The introduction of machinery and the minute sub- 
division of labor accompanying the factory system lessen 
Causes and the need for the skilled artisan. Little strength 
remedies. an( j intelligence are required to feed and attend 
many machines in the modern factory. Hence the labor 
of children will often suffice in modern industrial life. As 
compared with that of men, such labor is cheap and plenti- 
ful, and it is therefore, necessary to enact special legisla- 
tion in order to protect such workers, who often fall a prey 
to the thoughtless or selfish employer. An indifferent 
public is a second factor in the child Jabor problem. Cheap 
goods will sell in spite of the fact that such cheapness is 
often secured at the price of the child's health and welfare. 
The Consumers' League has done much in a campaign 
of popular education to inform the public concerning the 
social cost of such production. It has an honor list of 
industrial firms, whose working conditions are good, and 
whose patronage is worthy of public 'approval. The 
Christmas slogan of "Shop early" has accomplished much 
good for the young men and women employed in depart- 
ment stores. A third factor in the problem is the neces- 
sity for self-support. Poverty is one cause of child labor 
because the child's small wages are often needed to sup- 
plement the family income. Again, the child himself may 
be glad to leave school because it does not appeal to him. 
It is often far removed from practical life, and the discipline 
is irksome. Later, this short-sighted policy will be apparent, 
when the child who has remained in school forges ahead 
of those who leave before the course is- completed. It is 
perfectly true, however, that the modern school should 
provide a curriculum sufficiently diversified to appeal to 
the needs of all classes of children. 



The Conservation of Labor 391 

The effects of child labor are injurious to the child, to 
society, and to industry. Even under the most favorable 
working conditions, such labor is highly injurious The 
from the physical point of view. Childhood is e ects ' 
the period of physical growth requiring an abundance of 
fresh air, freedom, and activity. It is also the period of 
mental growth and development. The monotony of 
repeated operations of the same character is a poor sub- 
stitute for self-expression and intellectual training. Again, 
in the factory the moral atmosphere of the child's sur- 
roundings is frequently bad, and he becomes acquainted 
with many existing evils before the age of innocent child- 
hood has passed. In the second place, child labor has 
injurious effects upon society. It tends to break up 
family life by taking the child out of his normal place 
in the home. The young wage earner very quickly 
tends to become independent of parental authority. His 
opportunity to rise is limited, and he becomes accus- 
tomed to low wages and standards. It is also well 
to remember that this army of child laborers will 
become the fathers and mothers of the next generation, 
and that they are not receiving proper training for their 
future in society. Finally, a word should be said of the 
effect of this problem upon industry. Child labor in the 
long run is not always the cheapest labor. It lowers the 
efriciency of the worker, for, generally speaking, every 
dollar earned before the age of fourteen is taken from later 
earning capacity. Moreover, the labor of children is waste- 
ful. They are unreliable and their carelessness is a frequent 
cause of accidents. 

Most of our recent child labor laws have been passed since 
1895. A National Child Labor Committee, organized in 



392 Problems of American Democracy 

1904, has urged reform in many states and suggested model 
laws for enactment. Since each state enacts its own laws, 
Recent the employers affected by the proposed legisla- 

legisiation. ^ Qn tnreaten to rem ove their plants to 

other states. New York and Illinois have excellent child 
labor laws, while the Pennsylvania legislature in 19 15 
passed a law decidedly improving the child labor situation 
in that state. A happy augury for the future is found in 
the recent creation of a Federal Child Labor Bureau. A 
model child labor law must not only be clear and dis- 
tinct in language, but must also provide an effective 
machinery for the enforcement of its provisions. A sal- 
aried corps of inspectors should be created with power to 
prosecute violations of the law. While many employers 
seek to cooperate in enforcing the law, others have been 
guilty of evasion 

It is generally agreed that a model child labor law should 
cover certain well-defined points. The maximum working 
A model day should be one of eight hours, instead of ten, 

* as found in some states. Night work should also 

be prohibited, and a closing hour fixed. The minimum age 
at which the child is permitted to work should be fourteen. 
Some states still have a limit of twelve years of age, and 
certain southern states make an exception even to this age 
in the case of children of pauper parents. Children between 
the ages of fourteen and sixteen should have duly signed 
working papers. The state laws on child labor should be 
correlated with those upon compulsory education. No 
children should be permitted to enter what are called the 
"dangerous trades," and these should be specified in the 
law. 

Women in Industry. — Women as well as children 



The Conservation of Labor 



393 




394 Problems of American Democracy 

became workers under the new factory system. The 
economic causes of both problems are much the same and 
their effects quite similar, although women, under 
biance to the domestic system, always performed consider- 
able industrial labor. For physical reasons 
the efficiency of woman is sometimes not so high as that of 
man; while her health and vitality are often seriously 
impaired through the strain of industry. From the stand- 
point of society the effect upon family life may be equally 
bad, especially in the case of mothers forced to leave small 
children. The secondary function of the family is that of 
socialization, or the preparation of children for the larger 
life of society. This cannot be accomplished in a dis- 
rupted family life. However, woman cannot be denied 
her right to independence and self-support, for this move- 
ment is but a part of the larger field of equality into which 
she has entered. Nevertheless, it is necessary to protect 
her in the exercise of this new freedom. Therefore laws 
have been passed to regulate the industries into which she 
may enter, so that her surroundings may be healthful and 
sanitary. There exists, however, as great a discrepancy 
in the various laws of the different states upon these mat- 
ters as upon child labor. The number of women employed 
is very high in the manufacturing states of our North 
Atlantic section and also in parts of the South. At the 
present time, there is a total of approximately eight million 
women engaged in various industries in the United States. 
Not only has the total number of women in industry 
increased, but also the proportion to the total population 
has advanced. 

Because many of those concerned are women, a word 
may be said here concerning the sweat shop system. This 



The Conservation of Labor 



395 



phenomenon is found principally in large congested cities, 
and especially in the clothing industry located in these 
centers. The cloth, after being cut for gar- The sweat 
ments in the principal establishments, is dis- s op ' 
tributed to various small shops and private houses in the 
neighborhood. Here men, women, and children make the 
finished garment. Employment is irregular, and wages are 




A Typical Sweat Shop 

determined by the "sweater," who takes advantage of the 
immigrant, the aged, the children, the inexperienced, and 
those in dire need. Hours of labor are long in the busy 
season, and the surroundings where the work is done are 
often detrimental to the health of the worker. Factory 
laws are vain against these abuses, because the sweat shop 
may often be located in the home of the individual. 



396 Problems of American Democracy 

In most occupations the wages of women are much 

lower than those of men. Therefore many women have 

raised the cry of "equal pay for equal work." 

Low wages. 

However, since most women have only them- 
selves to support or simply the family income to sup- 
plement, they have been able to subsist on lower wages. 
Again, competition with women has resulted in a lowering 
of the wages of men. To supplement the income other 
members of the family have sought gainful occupations. 
Hence many argue that this whole movement is that of 
a circle, with nothing gained in the end. They, therefore, 
look with disfavor upon the entrance of women into busi- 
ness and industrial life. Certain special investigations have 
shown that, in some industries, the wages of women are 
criminally low. The wage allowed precludes any possi- 
bility of maintaining a decent standard of living for those 
women who must support themselves. The result is bad 
housing, insufficient food and clothing, and little, if any, 
means of recreation. Hence, several states have passed 
minimum wage laws which fix the lowest wage that may 
be paid woman workers in certain employments. Massa- 
chusetts led this movement in 191 2. It would seem that 
the state can best protect women from exploitation by 
refusing to permit them to work for a wage insufficient to 
maintain a decent standard of living. Women's labor 
organizations can, of course, accomplish the same purpose. 
The occupations of women may be grouped under the 
following heads: (1) domestic service; (2) agriculture; 
New occu- (3) industry; (4) commerce and business; (5) 
pations. professional life. Domestic service employs a 
large number of women, but has been exempted from many 
laws dealing with women in industry. Although American 



The Conservation of Labor 397 

women have not engaged in agriculture to any great 
extent, immigrants from Europe sometimes pick fruit and 
berries. In the South a large part of the cotton crop is 
picked by colored women. The great change, however, 
has come in the last three groups of occupations. We 
have seen the entrance of women into industry and have 
noted its causes and effects. Of more recent years women 
have invaded commerce, business, and the professions. 
Formerly the only profession open to women was that of 
teaching. The great universities, however, have now 
begun to open wide their doors to women who desire to 
study law or medicine or the new profession of social ser- 
vice. Formerly, women were rarely seen in the mercan- 
tile pursuits, but now they are often found taking the places 
of men as clerks, stenographers, and saleswomen. Since 
the age of marriage has advanced, women have utilized 
such positions in order to provide for themselves a means 
of support. Many women desire the economic inde- 
pendence secured through a professional or business career. 
In most cases, however, women are simply "loaned" to 
industry and eventually find a rightful place in the home. 
Welfare Work. — To-day it is a far cry from the welfare 
work of a modern business house to the factory conditions 
of a century ago. During the past generation, 

i r i r • e 1 t Meaning. 

the conception of the functions of the employer 
has widened far beyond the mere matter of economic 
production. He is regarded as having social responsi- 
bilities to the employee, as well as to the general public. 
The employment of large numbers of women and children 
has stimulated welfare work within the factory and depart- 
ment store. It can be well defined in the words of Pro- 
fessor Commons as "all those services which an employer 



398 Problems of American Democracy 

may render to his work people over and above the pay- 
ment of wages." Labor, however, has not always taken 
a sympathetic attitude toward such a program which it 
has stigmatized as capitalistic feudalism. It is even 
sometimes said that welfare work is done for advertising 
purposes, and as a substitute for higher wages. Never- 
theless, this movement often represents a real attempt to 
put a soul into a great corporation, and to develop loyalty 
and esprit de corps among the workers. 

A typical example of welfare work may be seen in the 
construction of the modern factory, which affords a striking 
niustra- contrast to the dreary, poorly lighted and ven- 
tions. tilated fire traps of a century ago. Toilet 

facilities and rest rooms have also been provided. Depart- 
ment stores, which later began this work, are going through 
a similar evolution. Again, large modern corporations 
often have free medical dispensaries and sometimes social 
service departments. The United States Steel Corpora- 
tion spends nearly six million dollars annually on welfare 
work. Railroads have felt the new spirit and have come 
to see that contented and happy employees make for 
efficiency. Sleeping quarters, as well as smoking and 
amusement rooms, have been located near great terminals. 
Some industrial firms have established athletic fields where 
baseball games are played between the different depart- 
ments. Glee clubs, military organizations, reading clubs, 
and occasionally schools have been established within the 
organization of the plant. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Sketch some of the early social effects of the factory s ystem in 
England. 



The Conservation of Labor 399 

2. What steps were taken by Parliament to remedy these con- 
ditions? 

3. Sketch the history of child labor in the United States. 

4. What states and industries are conspicuous in this regard? 

5. Why is it more difficult to legislate against this evil in the 
United States than in England? 

6. Give some causes of child labor and suggest remedies. 

7. State fully the effects of child labor. 

8. What points should a model child labor law cover? 

9. Compare the child labor problem with that of women in 
industry. 

10. Discuss the sweat shop and its evils. 

1 1 . What are some causes and results of the inadequate wages of 
women in certain occupations? 

12. How have some states tried to regulate this problem? Do 
you think such attempts are wise and successful? 

13. Show how women's sphere of activity has increased. 

14. Classify the chief occupations of women to-day. 

15. What do you understand by the welfare work of a modern 
industrial corporation? 

16. Give some illustrations. 

17. What has been the attitude of labor toward welfare work? 
Is such a position wise or fair? 



TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The child labor laws of your own state. 

2. The work of the Consumers' League. 

3. Minimum wage laws. 

4. Working conditions in some factory or department store near 
you. 

5. Child labor in England before the law of 1833. 

6. Twentieth century social legislation in England. 

7. The welfare work of some modern corporation. 

8. Contemporary social legislation in the United States. 

9. Resolved that "women should not work in the industries." 
10. Effect of the Progressive Campaign of 191 2 on social legislation. 



400 Problems of American Democracy 

REFERENCES 

Abbott, E. Women in Industry. 

Cheyney, E. P. Social and Industrial History of England. 

Clopper, E. N. Child Labor in the City Streets. 

Hamilton, W. Current Economic Problems. 

Kelley, F. Some Ethical Gains Through Legislation. Chapters 

I, II and III. 
Mangold, G. B. Child Labor Problems. 
Reports of the National Child Labor Committee. 
Reports of the Consumers' League. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

Industrial Risks and Social Insurance 

I. Unemployment 
i. Causes: 

a. Special 

b. General 

2. Amount 

3. Social cost 

4. Remedial measures 
II. Occupations of ri ?k 

1 . Causes of danger : 

a. Poison 

b. Dust 

c. Extremes of temperature 

2. Industrial accidents : 

a. Extent and character 

b. Railroad accidents 

c. Other accidents 

3. Proposed remedies : 

a. Workmen's compensation 

b. Compulsory state insurance 
II. Sickness insurance 

1 . National cost of ill health 

2. Forms of insurance 
III. Old age insurance 

1. In Germany 

2. In Great Britain 

3. Conclusion 

Although of a different character, the risks of industry 
are shared by both labor and capital. The enterpriser, 

A A 401 



/ 



402 Problems of American Democracy 

who assumes the responsibility for an undertaking, faces 
the possibility of financial loss. But, while periods of 
depression mean lower dividends to the capitalist, they 
bring to the laborer the loss of employment and wages. 
Industrial accidents and sickness, as well as the possi- 
bility of a dependent old age, are among the hazards of 
industry. Like child labor and the sweat shop, these 
economic maladjustments have serious social effects. The 
problem of remedial legislation largely falls within the 
sphere of the individual states. Social insurance is an 
attempt to diffuse the risks of industry throughout society 
and to prevent the entire burden from falling upon a single 
individual or family. The most common types of social 
insurance are against accidents, ill health, and old age. 

Unemployment. — Numerous individual reasons may be 
assigned for unemployment, such as old age, sickness, 
Causes: intemperance, shiftlessness, or incapacity. Such 
speaai. personal defects, however, do not create the 
problem of unemployment, but merely determine its inci- 
dence, that is, which members of society shall be the unem- 
ployed. The great causes of unemployment are to be 
found in the economic environment. Division of labor is 
a complex mechanism, and modern industries are vitally 
interdependent. A strike of the London dock hands may 
cause loss of employment to the millers of Minneapolis. 
Again, there may be a temporary oversupply of some 
commodity. Tqo many individuals may have been work- 
ing in one industry, and overproduction may have resulted. 
Certain towns in the Middle West, for example, have been 
characterized as steel towns, or automobile towns. If over- 
production strikes one such industry, a serious loss of 
employment takes place. 



Industrial Risks and Social Insurance 403 

Unemployment, however, is more general in periods of 
industrial depression. These unfortunate economic crises 
seem to have been regularly recurring phe- „ 

. . ' General. 

nomena. It has been estimated that, in almost 
every decade, the United States has suffered from a more 
or less severe panic. Rising and falling price levels have 
an important effect upon these business cycles, and hence 
the stabilization of prices is most important. Again, 
within a particular industry, there may be alternating busy 
and slack seasons. In the building trades construction 
work can be undertaken only in fair weather. Another 
important cause of unemployment is to be found in fre- 
quent changes in demand. Fashion is very fickle, and its 
dictates are uneconomic. A new type of shoe or a new 
style of cloth may mean the scrapping of old machinery 
and the construction of new. In general, we may say that 
the production of luxuries is characterized by a less stable 
demand than the production of necessities. Again, the 
invention of new machinery causes unemployment to some 
workers, who must find new means of livelihood. The 
constant changing of the tariff has had much the same 
effect. Thus, changes in the economic environment call 
for constant readjustment. Unemployment represents one 
result of imperfect coordination and adjustment. 

Unemployment may be chronic or temporary. Although 
it is greatly increased in periods of general depression, there 
is an alarming amount of permanent unemploy- 
ment. The Charity Organization Society of 
New York states that half of their applicants need work 
rather than material help . D uring the winter 0^914-1915 
the unemployment problem became so acute in Phila- 
delphia that a commission was appointed to study the 



404 Problems of American Democracy 

situation. The report showed that, in a city of a million 
and a quarter of inhabitants, the number of unemployed 
in various occupations ranged from fifty to two hundred 
and fifty thousand. The amount of unemployment in 
normal times was found to be alarming. Lace weavers, 
for example, were found to have worked only three-fifths 
of their time in a period of five years. One representative 
carpet mill had never failed to lose twenty per cent of its 
time in any year during the previous four years. It was 
estimated that dock hands did not work more than two 
days each week. It was found that every winter thousands 
of Italians returned to Philadelphia from the truck farms 
of South Jersey to render the city's unemployment prob- 
lem more acute. Except in times of great prosperity, there 
is probably an excess of the supply of labor of the lowest 
grade. This is known as the casual labor force, or the 
labor reserve. During the World War there was little 
unemployment, for production was increased and wages 
were high. Reconstruction of industry in the post-war 
period, however, brought a serious problem of unemploy- 
ment. Prices began to fall and the production of a number 
of commodities was curtailed. 

The costs of unemployment are heavy to the employee, 

to the employer, and to society. To the employee it means 

loss of wages and a lower standard of living. It 

Social cost. . , . 

injures the worker's morale and unfits him for 
the discipline of steady work. It also breaks up the 
organization of the employer. Efficiency is lowered by a 
changing staff of workers. The cost of "breaking in" a 
new man has been estimated at from twenty-five to one 
hundred dollars. The cost to society of unemployment 
may be read in an increased rate of poverty and crime. 



Industrial Risks and Social Insurance 405 

The causes of unemployment suggest the remedies. 
Philanthropy is a mere temporary expedient. To effect 
a permanent remedy, changes must be made in Remedial 
the economic environment. Scientific manage- measures - 
ment has done much in this regard. Personnel depart- 
ments have been established within an industry and 
employment managers trained. Scientific studies of the 
causes of the great labor "turnover," and of absenteeism in 
industry, have been attempted. Improved working con- 
ditions, welfare work, and such democratic innovations as 
workers' councils have been found helpful. In certain 
cases it is also possible to dovetail seasonal industries so 
that constant employment is provided. Slack seasons may 
be used for taking inventories and for providing necessary 
stock. Education of the public, and of the manufacturer, 
to the necessity of a stable demand will tend to reduce 
sudden and extreme changes. A sound monetary and 
banking system is necessary to stabilize prices and to ward 
off the cycle of business depression. Too extreme speciali- 
zation in industry may well be avoided. Industrial edu- 
cation should seek not only to teach a man a trade, but 
also to make him an adaptable worker. Wherever pos- 
sible, the government should reserve its building and con- 
struction work for periods of economic depression. Such 
a plan will not only give employment when it is most 
needed, but it will also stimulate related industries which 
furnish necessary supplies. A system of public labor 
exchanges has been established in some states, whereby 
helpful information is secured for both the worker and the 
employer. Thus an attempt is made to adjust the labor 
force to industrial conditions, and to direct it from localities 
of oversupply to where it is needed. Unfortunately, in the 



406 Problems of American Democracy 

United States, most of the labor exchanges are privately 
managed. What is imperatively needed is a national 
system of public labor exchanges which will avoid duplica- 
tion and guarantee correlation of labor information. 

Occupations of Risk. — The name dangerous trades is 
applied to certain occupations because their very nature is 
Causes of fetal to the health and safety of the worker, 
danger: These may be conveniently considered from the 
point of view of the chief sources of danger 
inherent in such trades. One source of danger lies in the 
poisonous character of the materials used in certain 
branches of industry. The effect of such work upon the 
individual is frequently seen in the disease known as lead 
poisoning, which often occurs in the manufacture of white 
lead. This substance enters the system through the skin, 
or by way of the alimentary canal when the worker is not 
careful to wash his hands before eating. Paralysis, insan- 
ity, and finally death may result. Several European 
countries have greatly reduced the mortality in this trade 
by forbidding such practices as dry rubbing, and by insist- 
ing upon the necessity of certain precautionary measures. 
Workers with phosphorus frequently contract a char- 
acteristic disease, singularly fatal, known as phosphorus 
jaw. This is one of the few dangerous trades against which 
our government has legislated. 

A second source of danger lies in those industries which 
expose the lungs to an excessive amount of dust. Nature 
has furnished protection for occasional exposure 
to a normal amount of dust, but continual 
exposure to this irritant is extremely dangerous. The 
lungs become spotted with foreign particles which make 
fearful ravages upon the delicate membrane. Tuber- 



Industrial Risks and Social Insurance 407 

culosis and other diseases of the lungs and bronchial tubes 
affect the respiratory organs. This dust danger is well 
illustrated in coal mining. By screening the coal wet, the 
amount of coal dust in the air may be reduced. A similar 
pernicious effect often results from the dust generated by 
stone cutting, by metal grinding, and from the lint in tex- 
tile mills. Suction tubes and blowers should be used to 
draw off this vitiated air from the atmosphere. Certain 
gases and fumes may also be both dangerous and poisonous. 
In such cases the work should be done in a helmet, or under 
a hood with a forced draft. In many of the chemical trades 
the work is of a similar dangerous character. 

A third source of danger lies in sudden changes of tem- 
perature and air pressure. When steel workers, or those 
employed near hot furnaces, feel the outside 
contact of the cold blast of winter, they become f**p™atu/e. 
an easy prey to pneumonia. Workers under- 
ground in mines, tunnels, and subways often develop 
peculiar diseases due to changes of air pressure. Although 
higher wages are sometimes paid to such workers and 
to those in similar positions because of their dangerous 
character, society must still further protect them from the 
unusual strains of industry. The law must prescribe pre- 
cautionary measures and insist upon their enforcement. 
Shorter hours with frequent periods of rest, are absolutely 
essential to the health and safety of such workers. 

The industrial accident, impairing if not altogether 
destroying the efficiency of the worker, is another product 
of the factory system. The report of the first Cooperative 
Safety Congress showed that on the average, in certain 
occupations, one worker was killed in every sixteen minutes, 
and one injured in every sixteen seconds. This is the price 



408 Problems of American Democracy 

in human life that America has paid for speed. The respon- 
sibility for this condition rests upon both the employer and 

the worker. The worker is sometimes careless, 
accidents: indifferent, and ignorant; while the employer is 
£hamcter d often negligent in supplying safety devices and 

in rigidly enforcing the law. Of recent years 
a campaign of popular education has been inaugurated 
with the slogan "Safety First." A national organization 
for the safety of the worker uses the "white cross" to stand 
for prevention, in the same way that the "red cross " stands 
for first aid to the injured. Industrial accidents may be 
commonly classified according to occupation, as railroad, 
mining, factory, and building accidents. 

The Interstate Commerce Commission carefully com- 
piles the statistics relating to railroad accidents. It would 
Railroad seem that, in an average year, one employee is 
accidents. ^flied for every four hundred employed by the 
railroad. This, of course, does not include thousands of 
passengers who have been killed or inju :ed in wrecks. A 
comparison with certain European coul tries, like England 
and Germany, shows that there is no justification for such 
an appalling loss of life. Remedial measures should apply 
to company and workman alike. The corporation should 
not only install the latest and most approved signal devices, 
but should also use steel coaches wherever possible. Unfor- 
tunately, the financial condition of some railroads has pre- 
vented an expenditure of funds for such purposes. A fed- 
eral law requiring automatic couplers has reduced markedly 
the number of casualties among trainmen. The employee, 
however, cannot be relieved of his individual responsibility. 
He must be constantly on the alert for his own safety and 
for that of others. From the railroad point of view, as 



Industrial Risks and Social Insurance 409 

well as from that of the public, it is an absolute waste to 
employ ignorant, careless, or unsteady workmen. On the 
other hand, hours of work should not be so continuous as 
to produce fatigue and lowered efficiency. 

Statistics regarding mining accidents are compiled by 
state inspectors and are neither so complete nor accurate 
as those regarding railroads. Of mining acci- other 
dents, those in coal mines are the most numer- accidents - 
ous.' In the coal-producing countries of Europe the out- 
put has increased greatly, but the number of deaths per 
thousand has decreased. This is due to legislation con- 
cerning the operation of mines and to the establishment of 
testing stations for the study of problems relating to safety 
in mines. Much has been accomplished by government 
regulations concerning the use of safety lamps, explosives, 
and the proper support of small passageways. In regard to 
manufacturing, we find the same incompleteness of statis- 
tics because of the system of state inspection of factories. 
The chief source of danger here lies in the frequent use of 
unguarded machinery. Safety appliances are often dis- 
carded in the "speeding up " process. Inefficient labor and 
long-continued work upon the same monotonous operation 
frequently results in careless accidents. The effects of 
industrial accidents and dangerous trades are more than 
an impairment of personal efficiency or an individual sacri- 
fice of life and limb. They also represent an enormous loss 
of productive power. Again, the burden of such injuries 
falls not only upon the worker himself, but also upon his 
family and the community. Loss of the services of the 
bread winner may make the family destitute of proper 
support and thus dependent upon society. 

In view of these marked effects of dangerous trades and 



41 o Problems of American Democracy 

industrial accidents upon society, it is important that the 
individual affected be provided with legal machinery, where- 
by he may be reimbursed for injuries suffered at 
remedies : the hands of his f ellowmen. That is, society must 
Compensation °^ er som e means of protection to the workman, 
or to his family, for social injuries. The first 
step toward social insurance was found in the Employers' 
Liability Act, under which the injured workmen might bring 
suit against the employer to recover damages for wrong" suf- 
fered. However, because of the doctrine of contributory 
negligence, it was often impossible for the workman to 
receive any recompense for his injury, if it could be proved 
that such injury was partly caused by his own carelessness 
or by that of his fellow workers. It, therefore, marked a 
great step in advance for the workman when society evolved 
the idea of a Workmen's Compensation Act, whereby the 
expense of law suits is generally eliminated. According to 
this act, the workman, for his injury, receives automatically 
a percentage of his wages or a certain sum in proportion 
to the injury sustained. Even though the fault may be 
largely that of the workman, the employer must bear the 
brunt of the financial burden and in this way accept finan- 
cially the risk which the laborer assumes physically. Hence 
the employer is more apt to consider the safety of his 
employees. In 1897, to supersede the older Employers' 
Liability Act, England passed a Workmen's Compensa tion 
Act. In the United States, this legislation is largely a 
matter of state action, and several commonwealths, includ- 
ing Pennsylvania, have enacted such laws. Finally, Con- 
gress in 1908, enacted a law providing a system of com- 
pensation for accidents suffered by industrial employees of 
the federal government. 



Industrial Risks and Social Insurance 411 

Another form of social insurance is known as compul- 
sory state insurance. Germany was the pioneer in this 
movement. In 1884. a law was enacted requiring _ 

^ . Compulsory 

employees to become members of mutual acci- state 

. , insurance. 

dent insurance companies. These are privately 
managed, but are supervised by the Central Insurance 
Office. The insurance associations levy assessments upon 
the member companies to provide funds from which to pay 
compensation. The injured workman, or his dependents, 
receive payment in accordance with a legally prescribed 
scale of rates. The accident insurance is correlated with 
a plan of compulsory sickness insurance. For the first 
thirteen weeks, the payment to the worker comes from the 
latter fund. Hence the burden upon the employer is not 
so heavy. Like other forms of social insurance, the tend- 
ency is to shift the cost upon the general public. Since 
industrial insurance premiums are part of the cost of pro- 
duction, the price of the product is correspondingly higher. 
The products of dangerous trades become expensive, and 
their use is thus discouraged. Industrial insurance takes 
another form in Norway, where employers are required to 
pay premiums into a state insurance fund from which 
injured workers receive compensation. The rate of premium 
which each employer pays depends upon the number and 
wages of his employees, and upon the hazard of the occu- 
pation. 

Sickness Insurance. — The examinations for military 
service during the World War afforded an interesting study 
of the physical fitness of the nation. According „ . 

^ J ° National 

to a report of the Provost Marshal General, cost of m 

, .„. . , . ' health. 

over three million men were examined in the 

period from December, 191 7, to September, 1918. Approx- 



412 Problems of American Democracy 

imately sixty-five per cent of the men between the ages of 
twenty-one and thirty-one were found fully qualified for 
military service. A greater number of rejections were made 
from the urban population than from the rural. Again, a 
slightly greater percentage of rejections occurred with the 
negro than with the white applicants, and with the foreign 
born as compared with the native. The amount of national 
sickness is equally important, although there are no such 
significant statistics. A committee of experts, however, 
estimated that there are annually two hundred and fifty 
million days of sickness among the workmen of the United 
States. Expressed in terms of money, this means an annual 
cost of perhaps a billion dollars. The United States Bureau 
of Labor reports that every workman in the steel industry 
has an expectation of nine days lost by sickness each year, 
as against four days lost by accident. 

Many industrial firms have inaugurated plans by which 
their employees receive partial wages during sickness. 
Forms of There are also unions and fraternal organizations 
insurance. wn i cn p a y s { c ^ benefits. Germany, however, 
was the first nation to make sickness insurance compulsory. 
In 1885 a law was passed for this purpose, which applied to 
all wage earners receiving less than two thousand marks a 
year, totaling almost twenty million persons. The employer 
pays one-third, and the employee two-thirds, of the cost. 
Insurance cards are carried by the worker, and both 
employer and employee purchase sickness insurance stamps 
at the post office. Thus the government receives money 
premiums from which the insurance office pays sick benefits. 
In 191 2, Great Britain passed the National Insurance Act. 
Sickness insurance became compulsory for all wage earners 
receiving less than one hundred and sixty pounds annually, 



Industrial Risks and Social Insurance 413 

about fourteen million workers. A similar system of stamps 
and cards was inaugurated, but the employer's contri- 
bution was relatively larger. The whole insurance system 
of Germany was codified in 191 1. Among the benefits 
provided for were not only money compensation, but also 
provision for medical attendance and necessary appliances, 
such as spectacles and artificial limbs. Free admission to 
the hospital was provided, when necessary, as well as pro- 
vision for maternity cases. 

Old Age Insurance. — Germany was also the first 
nation to administer compulsory old-age insurance. Because 
of the paternalistic nature of the government, i n 
such schemes have originated and flourished in German y- 
that country. This particular scheme compels the employer 
to see that each employee has an old-age insurance card 
with the proper amount of stamps affixed. These stamps 
represent small premiums of from three to nine cents a 
week, varying with the wages paid. The employer affixes 
the stamps which he has purchased from the government, 
paying half himself and deducting the other half from the 
employee's wages. The annuities granted are correspond- 
ingly small, and averaged before the War about forty 
dollars. The government itself added twelve dollars 
and fifty cents out of the imperial treasury for each pen- 
sioner. 

In 1908 Great Britain passed the Old Age Pension Law. 
This is a gratuitous payment by the government as com- 
pared with the compulsory old-age insurance i n Great 
plan of Germany, in which employer, employee, Bntain - 
and government all contribute. At the age of seventy, a 
pension will be paid to any individual whose income does 
not exceed one hundred and fifty dollars a year, provided 



414 Problems of American Democracy 

he has been a British citizen for twenty years and has 
never been either a pauper or a criminal. The maximum 
pension is five shillings a week. 

Thus, social insurance covers the different hazards of 
industry, and each type must be considered on its own 
merits. Industrial accident insurance, however, 
has passed the experimental stage and should be 
included within the legislative program of every enlightened 
State. On the other hand, most students of social insur- 
ance feel that the difficulties of unemployment insurance 
are insurmountable, and that such schemes should be left 
to private associations like labor unions. No nation has as 
yet provided unemployment insurance. Sickness and old- 
age insurance are still in the experimental stage. It is 
here that the advocates of social insurance are planning 
their campaign in the United States. Sickness insurance 
is feared by some because it represents another extension 
of governmental activities. It is also contended that it 
would offer many administrative difficulties. Old-age insur- 
ance is denounced by many writers as socialism in disguise. 
It might discourage thrift in the young, and it would 
undoubtedly increase both the expense and the functions of 
the national or state government. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Enumerate some of the risks of labor and contrast them with 
the risks of capital. 

2. Explain what you understand by social insurance and name 
the leading types. 

3. What elements in the economic environment make for unem- 
ployment? 

4. How can these be changed to minimize unemployment? 

5. Discuss the amount of unemployment, chronic and temporary. 



Industrial Risks and Social Insurance 415 

6. Show the social cost of unemployment. 

7. Show why several -dangerous trades are so called. 

8. Can you name any others besides those in the text? 

9. Show that the rate of industrial accidents is alarming. 

10. What occupations lead in this respect and how may conditions 
in each be improved? 

11. Show the social effects of industrial accidents. 

12. Compare American and European conditions in respect to 
accidents. 

13. Compare the Employers' Liability Act with the Workmen's 
Compensation Act. 

14. Contrast the latter with Germany's plan. 

15. Show the industrial cost of sickness. 

16. Do you think sickness insurance should be introduced, or 
should be made compulsory, in the United States? 

17. Explain the operation of the German system. 

18. Compare the English and German plans of old-age insurance. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. How the scientific management of industry may reduce 
unemployment. 

2. Cycles of business depression. 

3. A comparison of the casualties of war and industry. 

4. The Red Cross and Safety First movements. 

5. Social insurance in Germany. 

6. The social insurance program of your own state. 

7. The social insurance program for American soldiers and 
sailors during the World War. 

8. The abuse of the doctrine of contributory negligence. 

9. A contrast between socialism and social insurance. 

10. Effects of laissez faire or individualism on industry in England 
and America. 

11. Objections to a program of social insurance. 

REFERENCES 

Bevertdge, W. H. Unemployment. 

Burch, H. R. American Economic Life. Chapter XVI. 



4i 6 Problems of American Democracy 

Carlton, F. T. History and Problems of Organized Labor. 

Hamilton, W. Current Economic Problems-. Chapter XI. 

Lescohler, D. D. The Labor Market. 

Oliver,~T. Dangerous Trades. 

Oliver, T. Diseases of Occupation. 

Seager, H. R. Principles of Economics. Chapter XXXII. 

Seager, H. R. Social Insurance. 

Willits, J. H. Unemployment in Philadelphia 



CHAPTER XXXII 

Standards of Living 

I. General characteristics 

i. Meaning of standard of living 

2. Its relative nature 

3. Nature of economic wants : 

a. They vary 

b. They expand 

4. Real wages 
II. Family budgets 

1 . Component parts : 

a. Chief items 

b. Minor items 

2. Variations: 

a. Among groups 

b. Among localities 
III. Minimum standards 

1 . Older investigations 

2. Effect of World War: 

a. On wages 

b. On cost of living 

3. The conclusion 

After all, the fundamental requisite of a contented 
democracy is not a highly complicated system of govern- 
mental machinery for the purpose of alleviating economic 
and social distress, but a sufficient participation in eco- 
nomic prosperity which relieves the necessity of continued 
governmental assistance in industrial life. However, great 
national prosperity does not necessarily mean prosperity 
upon the part of all the citizens of the republic. We have 

BB 417 



418 Problems of American Democracy 

observed that national wealth and national welfare are not 
necessarily identical. If a considerable number of people 
have insufficient incomes to maintain decent standards 
of living, the nation exhibits the social maladjustment of 
poverty. Before investigating the problem of poverty, 
however, it is necessary to consider what is meant by a 
standard of living. 

General Characteristics. — A standard of living may 
be regarded as a measure of economic consumption, that 
,. . , is, as the amount of wealth which an individual 

Meaning of 

standard or a family consumes. Economic goods may be 
roughly divided into three groups — necessities, 
comforts, and luxuries. Exact social measurements are 
impossible, and standards of living gradually fade into 
each other like the colors of the spectrum. The standard 
of living of an unskilled laborer may include little more 
than the necessities of life, while that of his employer may 
be largely made up of luxuries. There is one standard of 
living for Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch and another 
for her friend, the Christmas Lady. Between the two 
extremes are innumerable variations involving all degrees 
of comforts. Standards of living are generally estimated 
in terms of money, and experts speak of the different 
income groups in society. The estimate is generally based 
upon the family rather than upon the individual expendi- 
ture, for the family is the usual unit of economic con- 
sumption. 

Not only do standards of living vary between different 
income groups, but also between nations. Thus, we hear 
its relative of an American standard of living as compared 
nature. ^^ a E ur0 p ean or a Chinese standard of living. 

Finally, standards of living vary from age to age, and the 



Standards of Living 419 

comforts of a middle class family in England to-day are 
very different from those of the Elizabethan period. In 
short, a standard of living is a relative and comparative 
thing. People do not miss what they have never enjoyed. 
The philosopher may object to such a commodity measure- 
ment of welfare and claim that happiness is a state of mind. 
A poor man may be happier than a rich man. The student 
of society does not deny the truth of such a possibility, 
but finds it impossible to measure accurately happiness 
which rests upon an intangible state of mind. Conse- 
quently, he is forced to content himself with measuring 
standards of living in terms of the wealth consumed. 

An exact measurement of standards of living is also 
rendered difficult by the diversity of human wants. One 
workman may regard tobacco as a necessity 
and curtail his consumption of food in order economic 
to gratify this want. The expenditures of I _ 
one individual may seem very irrational to 
another. One successful business man may desire to build 
public libraries and another to construct racing yachts. If 
the consumption of a single economic good continues, the 
principle of diminishing satisfaction begins to operate. The 
second automobile has less want-satisfying power to an indi- 
vidual than the first. The small boy eating hot cakes for 
breakfast may have an enormous gustatory capacity, but 
the point of diminishing satisfaction, or utility, is finally 
reached. This principle of diminishing utility is lessened 
by the great variety of economic goods, which the Indus- 
trial Revolution has made possible. 

Another characteristic of human wants is their power of 
rapid expansion. As one's income increases, one's eco- 
nomic wants increase even more rapidly. Standards of 



420 Problems of American Democracy 

living, like India-rubber, seem capable of almost infinite 

expansion. Occasionally the snapping point is reached, 

, and disaster overcomes the nation. Imitation is 

They expand. 

a powerful force in society, and each group looks 
longingly at the standard of living of the next higher 
income group. Sometimes the standard which is set by 
the so-called "social set" is as harmful as it is shallow. 
Its purpose may be a mere display of wealth, with the con- 
sequent inference of superiority. The logical outcome of 
such "conspicuous consumption" is a tendency to convert 
a democracy into a plutocracy. Such was the social and 
political evolution of ancient Rome. 

"Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, 
Where wealth accumulates and men decay." 

Standards of living are influenced not only by what one 
wants, but also by what one can purchase. Human wants 
Real are upon one side of the equation, and income 

wages. or wa g es U p 0n the other. Economists differen- 

tiate between real wages and money wages. A miser, like 
Silas Marner, may have found pleasure in the mere count- 
ing of his gold, but what a normal individual desires is the 
goods which he can buy, either in the present or future. 
Real wages mean the economic goods, or services, which 
can be purchased with the money wages. In order to express 
money wages in terms of real wages, the general price level 
in the community must be considered. If a man receives 
two thousand dollars to-day, instead of the one thousand 
dollars received several years ago, his money wage has 
been doubled. If the general price level during this 
period has similarly increased, however, the purchasing 
power of money has been cut in half. Hence his real wages 



Standards of Living 421 

remain the same. But, if prices decline and money wages 
remain the same, real wages are increasing. 

Family Budgets. — Just as a nation or city must bal- 
ance its expenditures against its receipts from taxation, 
so the average family must balance purchases Component 
against wages. Any attempt to do this sys- P arts - 
tematically may be called making a budget. 
Formerly the study of economic consumption was rather 
neglected, but of recent years a number of studies have 
been made concerning family budgets. The commonly 
accepted unit of measurement is a family of five, consisting 
of the father, mother, and three dependent children. The 
largest single item in the family budget was found to be 
for the expenditure of food. This ranged from about 
fifty per cent of the entire wages of the lowest income 
group to twenty-five per cent in the case of families in 
moderate circumstances. Rent and clothing vie for second 
place in the expenses of the families recently studied, for 
each averaged from fifteen to eighteen per cent of the 
wages. The amount spent for rent increases as we go up 
the social scale, but the proportion of the total income so 
consumed is remarkably constant. 

In the fourth place is the expenditure for light and heat, 
which varies from five to eight per cent. Transportation 
may or may not be an important item in the Minor 
expense account, according to the locality con- ttemSm 
sidered. The amount left for all other purposes varies 
from nothing in the case of the very poor to almost fifty 
per cent in the case of those in moderate circumstances. 
It is understood that the amount spent for the necessities 
of life, such as food and clothing, increases as we ascend 
the various income groups. It is important, however, to 



422 Problems of American Democracy 

observe that the per cent of the total income spent for 
such purposes steadily declines. As we go from the 
poorer groups to those in comfortable circumstances, the 
proportion, as well as the amount spent for all other pur- 
poses, steadily increases. Indeed, this margin of expen- 
diture above the actual necessities of life is regarded as the 
test of a desirable standard of living. In it are included 
expenditures for recreation, amusement, insurance, saving, 
and incidentals. 

A study of family budgets reveals many interesting dif- 
ferences in various standards of living. As a rule the 
Variations- standards of living of our native communities 
Among are higher than those of the foreign born, and 

the standards of the white communities are 
higher than those of the colored. Low standards of living 
are both a cause and an effect of low wages. Again, within 
the same income group, there are interesting differences 
in family budgets. Some immigrant groups, for example, 
spend relatively more on food, and others relatively more 
on clothing. Certain groups are very improvident, while 
others are parsimonious. Within a great city, there may 
be immigrant colonies and negro settlements, which afford 
an interesting comparison in the matter of standards of 
living. Each group clings to the old customs, as can be 
seen in characteristic foods, clothing, and forms of recre- 
ation. The new generation shows its Americanized char- 
acter in the changed standards of living. 

City and country also afford an interesting comparison. 

City workers often spend a relatively greater proportion 

Among of their wages upon clothing than do those in 

the country. A study of budgets would show 

different sets of consumption values. In general, the cost 



Standards of Living 423 

of living in the country is lower than that in the city. 
Consequently, a higher standard of living can be main- 
tained upon the same monetary income. A small frame 
house can be rented in the country for the same amount 
needed for a few rooms in the city. Again, the cost of 
certain foods is relatively lower in the country. Investi- 
gations have found similar differences among various cities 
in the matter of the cost of living. 

Minimum Standards. — The minimum wage under 
which a normal standard of living can be maintained has 
been variously estimated. For the normal fam- „. 

J Older 

ily, in 10 10, the annual sum of seven hundred investi- 

... . gations. 

dollars was fixed upon as a minimum in certain 
places. For larger cities, like New York, Dr. Chapin esti- 
mated that a yearly income of less than eight hundred 
dollars was not sufficient to maintain a normal standard 
of living for a family of five. A similar sum was fixed upon 
after an investigation of the stock yard district of Chicago. 
There were, however, at that time five million industrial 
workers in the United States, who were annually earning 
six hundred dollars or less. Although there was a high pro- 
portion of single men in the ranks of unskilled labor due 
to immigration, a -considerable number of workers were try- 
ing to support families. At that time, sixty-five per cent 
of the workers in the steel industry of Pittsburgh, "the 
city of a thousand millionaires," were classified as unskilled 
laborers with wages ranging from a little over four hun- 
dred to a little over five hundred dollars. A wage lower 
than the minimum required to support a decent standard 
of living seemed to have been the rule in the New York 
tenements, in the stock yard section of Chicago, and in 
the industrial towns of Pennsylvania. 



424 Problems of American Democracy 

With the World War came the great increase in prices. 
There began a race between increased income and increased 
Effects of cos ^ °^ living. It was easily seen that an 
the War: increased wage did not give an equivalent real 

On wages: * i i 1 i r , . . 

wage. Although the cost of living went up for 
all consumers, wages went up very irregularly. The salaried 
man's wage increase fell far short of the increased cost of 
living. The wages of organized labor went up more rapidly 
than did those of unorganized labor. It is safe to say 
that the wages of many groups of skilled and semi-skilled 
labor doubled and, in some cases, even trebled during that 
period. There was an increased demand for labor, and 
immigration ceased to provide a supply of unskilled labor. 
The beginnings of this rise in wages during the War can be 
seen in the income tax returns for 191 7. This showed that 
three and a half million persons, or approximately seventeen 
per cent of the twenty million American families, were 
receiving annual incomes of over a thousand dollars. If we 
allow for items and persons not shown upon these returns, the 
percentage can be stretched to twenty-five or even thirty. 
This rapid but irregular increase in wages continued up to, 
and even a short time after, the close of the World War. 
From an investigation made in the industrial establish- 
ments of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, Professor 
David Friday estimated that the average annual wage in 
1 9 19 was about thirteen hundred dollars. He further 
estimated that wages increased a little over two hundred 
per cent between 19 13 and 19 19. It must be remembered, 
however, that these statistics do not include such salaried 
groups as clerks, policemen, and postal employees. He 
argued further that the problem was one of increased pro- 
duction rather than simply a matter of wealth distribution. 



Standards of Living 425 

For example, if all incomes of over five thousand dollars a 
year were divided up among those making less, there 
would have been only two hundred dollars additional 
apiece. 

The older attempts to express standards of living in 
terms of money were rendered valueless by the increased 
cost of living brought about by the World War. on cost of 
The close of the War found the general level of living - 
prices approximately twice as high as before the conflict. 
Charts can be prepared to show this advance by means of 
selected commodities, whose increases in price have been 
expressed in percentages and then averaged. Such statistics 
of price changes are known as index numbers. It is also 
interesting to express upon the same chart the changes in 
prices and the changes in wages. In this manner the United 
States Bureau of Labor made an investigation during the 
War of conditions among the ship workers in the cities 
along the Delaware River. The sum of fifteen hundred 
dollars was fixed upon at that time as the minimum sum 
upon which a decent standard of living could be maintained 
by a family of five persons. In 19 18, the Philadelphia 
Bureau of Research published an itemized report showing 
that the same normal family of five required an income of 
eighteen hundred dollars to maintain a minimum standard 
of living. Other investigations at about the same time 
determined upon a slightly lower sum. On the other hand, 
a declaration of the garment workers placed twenty-five 
hundred dollars as its estimate of the wage required for 
maintaining a normal standard of living at that time. 

High prices continued for a time after the Civil War, 
but there finally began a gradual decline which continued 
more or less regularly throughout the remainder of the 



426 Problems of American Democracy 

century. We have already noted the relationship between 
prices and the quantity of money. Just as prices gradually 
The declined after the Civil War period, so, not long 

conclusion. after ^ cloge of ^ World War? the p rocess of 

deflation began in America. Moreover, there appeared to 
be a greater supply of goods in the country than had been' 
imagined. War prosperity was succeeded by a period of 
business depression and a drop in prices began, with its 
consequent effect on wages. It is likely that in spite of 
temporary fluctuations, the general tendency will be down- 
ward for some time to come, until another period of busi- 
ness expansion results in a new upward movement. Fall- 
ing prices mean an increased purchasing power of money. 
On the other hand, they bring unemployment and de- 
creased wages to the worker. It is as difficult to keep 
falling wages proportionate to falling prices as to keep 
rising prices and rising wages proportionate. It is the old 
story of attempting to keep real wages constant, in spite of 
changing prices and changing money wages. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Define the expression "standard of living." 

2. Is there one standard of living? Explain. 

3. Show how standards of living are relative. 

4. Illustrate the principle of diminishing satisfaction in con- 
sumption. 

5. Enumerate some characteristics of economic wants. 

6. Explain what you understand by " conspicuo.us consumption." 

7. Explain the difference between real and money wages. 

8. Why is the family used as the unit of consumption? 

9. What is a family budget? 

10. Name some of the important elements in it. 

11. Show the relative changes in budgets from the lower to the 
higher income groups. 



Standards of Living 427 

12. Show some of the variations which can be found in standards 
of living. 

13. What were some estimates of a minimum standard of living 
before the World War? After the World War? 

14. Were all the citizens of prosperous America enjoying such a 
standard? 

15. Show the effects of the War upon the general price level. 

16. Discuss the effects of the War upon wages. 

17. Enumerate some of the more recent attempts to express a 
minimum standard of living in terms of money. 

18. Do you believe that the government should fix a minimum 
wage for certain industries? Why or why not? What machinery 
would you employ? 

19. Compare wages to-day with wages at the close of the World 
War. 

20. Have prices declined or risen since the War? How has this 
affected real wages? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Oriental and American standards of living. 

2. Standards of living among the immigrants. 

3. Standards of living among the negroes. 

4. Your family budget, or the family budget of Mr. X. 

5. A chart showing recent changes in prices. 

6. The War and the standard of living. 

7. An analysis of some recent report upon a minimum standard 
of living. 

8. Present wages in the chief industries in your community. 

9. The simple versus the many-sided life. 

10. Progress as measured by the expansion of wants. 

REFERENCES 

Biirch, H. R. American Economic Life. Chapters V, VI and VII. 
Chapin, R. C. The Standard of Living Among Workingmen's 

Families in New York. 
King, W. I. The Wealth and Income of the People of the United States. 
Reports of Federal Commission on Industrial Relations. 



428 Problems of American Democracy 

Reports of Philadelphia Bureau of Municipal Research. 
Streighthoff, F. H. The Standard of Living Among the Industrial 

People of America. 
Streighthoff, F. H. The Distribution of Incomes. 
United States Bureau of Labor Bulletins. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

The Problem of Poverty 

I. Nature of poverty 
i. Definition of terms 

2. Extent of: 

a. Poverty 

b. Pauperism 

3. The point of view: 

a. Change of attitude 

b. Reformers' errors 

c. Theory of evolution 
II. Causes of poverty 

1. Environmental: 

a. Physical environment 

b. Economic environment 

c. Social environment 

d. Defects in government 

e. Defects in education 

2. Individual: 

a. Degeneracy 

b. Disease 

c. Intemperance 

d. Crime 

e. Desertion 

/. Death of main support 
g. Old age 
h. Defectives 
i. Indolence 

Were it possible to guarantee a comfortable standard of 
living to every American family, no problem of poverty 



430 Problems of American Democracy 

could exist. When national prosperity is sufficiently dif- 
fused throughout the community so that each individual 
or family is adequately provided for, the goal of social 
welfare, economically considered, is attained. Unfor- 
tunately, no such situation has ever prevailed in any 
human society — democratic or otherwise. In fact, there 
exist everywhere certain subnormal groups which are 
more or less in debt to society. These are known as the 
social debtor classes and fall into three separate groups — 
the dependents, the delinquents, and the defectives. The 
first includes paupers; the second, criminals; and the third, 
physical and mental defectives. It is now our purpose, in 
this and succeeding chapters, to examine in detail the 
problems arising from the existence of each of these classes 
in American democracy. 

Nature of Poverty. — In a discussion of poverty it is 
necessary at the outset to define several terms. That class 
Definition m society with the lowest income, or standard 
of terms. Q £ 1^^ j s usually referred to as "the poor." 
With the advance of civilization, the standards of living 
of both rich and poor have been raised. The well-to-do 
classes live in luxury unknown a few centuries ago to the 
corresponding group. The poor of to-day also possess 
more comforts than those enjoyed by a similar group in 
earlier society. The poor, however, in the sense of the 
lowest income class have persisted in society because our 
social system has always been divided into economic 
groups. The rise of standards of living goes on in all 
classes, but in spite of this upward movement the poor 
have continued to exist on a minimum of subsistence. In 
contradistinction to this popular use of the term poor, the 
sociologist employs the term poverty to mean the condition 



The Problem of Poverty 431 

of only that group whose income, and therefore standard 
of living, is so abnormally low that neither normal health 
nor efficiency can be maintained. It is in this sense, and 
to such a group, that the term poverty will be applied in 
this chapter. It may be possible for the advance of civili- 
zation to eliminate such a group by raising its income to 
an amount required to maintain an efficient standard of 
living. The pauper group is a part of the poverty class, 
just as this latter class is a part of the general group called 
the poor. Paupers are those individuals or families, in 
almshouses or in their own homes, who require economic 
help from various charity organizations. They constitute 
the real group of social debtors, for pauperism is essen- 
tially a state of dependency. Those individuals, however, 
who live in a condition of poverty but are too proud to 
receive outside help, should not be referred to as paupers. 
The extent of poverty is difficult to determine, for social 
measurements can not be made with absolute and undevi- 
ating accuracy. Standards of health and effi- Extent of: 
ciency vary with the individual judgment of the Povert y- 
observer. Again, the purchasing power of income fluc- 
tuates with the rise and fall of prices. Since poverty has 
an economic basis, its extent throughout the general 
population varies greatly with industrial prosperity and 
depression. Poverty is also much higher in the city than 
in rural communities. Several individuals, a few years ago, 
made special studies of the extent of poverty in a par- 
ticular locality. Charles Booth made the first great inves- 
tigation of its kind for London, and Rowntree undertook 
a similar study for the city of York. In these cities the 
estimated proportions of those living in poverty, that is, 
below an income required to maintain the normal stand- 



432 Problems of American Democracy 

ard of health and efficiency, were thirty and seven-tenths 
per cent and twenty-seven and eight-tenths per cent, 
respectively. Robert Hunter, by similar investigations in 
our own country, estimated that the proportion of those 
living in poverty in our large cities and industrial centers 
rarely fell below twenty-five per cent. It is smaller, of 
course, in the rural sections, but for our country at large 
the expression "the submerged tenth" is probably not an 
exaggeration. 

The extent of pauperism is almost equally difficult to 

determine. The almshouse often shelters such different 

groups of dependents as the sick, the feeble- 

Paupensm. . 

minded, the aged, and the shiftless. Records 
are often poorly kept and, unfortunately, many institu- 
tions for long periods of time kept no records whatsoever. 
However, in 1920, the United States census placed the num- 
ber of dependents in our various institutions at somewhat 
less than one million. This estimate, however, has little 
real significance because most paupers are not in alms- 
houses, but are cared for by what is known as the system 
of outdoor relief. The total number of dependents is 
probably between four and five millions. The support 
of this army of dependents requires annually about a half 
billion dollars. If we combine the paupers with the poverty 
group, the total number in America of such persons in 
ordinary times will probably reach the fifteen million mark. 
In Europe, the World War brought devastation and untold 
poverty to millions of people; while, in our own country, 
it finally brought a serious problem of unemployment 
with its attending economic hardships. 

The old attitude toward poverty was that it always 
had existed and always would continue to exist so long as 



The Problem of Poverty 433 

the world endured. Almsgiving was regarded as a religious 
duty and an indication of the piety of the donor. The 
monasteries of the Christian Church sheltered 
the poor and unfortunate of the Middle Ages, of view: 
So, to-day, innumerable beggars in the Moham- ^^ °* 
medan countries of the world continually appeal 
to the traveler for ' ' alms for the love of Allah. ' ' The modern 
view point, however, is that poverty in its narrow socio- 
logical meaning is unnecessary. The same scientific spirit 
which has rooted out smallpox, yellow fever, and other phys- 
ical contagions is striving to cure the social disease of pov- 
erty. The remedy is not indiscriminate almsgiving, because 
that kind of charity only increases pauperism. The causes 
which produce this unfortunate condition must be elimina- 
ted by the individual and by society. Poverty will then 
diminish in the same way that the elimination of the mosquito 
has reduced the amount of yellow fever in the tropics. 

A number of social reformers have made the error of 
assuming that poverty had but one cause. Thus Malthus 
believed poverty was due to the pressure of Reformers' 1 
population upon food supply. Karl Marx errors - 
sought its explanation in the ownership of the instruments 
of production by the capitalistic class. Socialism was 
therefore his remedy. To Henry George, poverty was the 
result of the rise in rent, and only the Single Tax could 
remove it. Poverty, however, is a complex phenomenon 
and its causes are manifold. They are both objective and 
subjective. Not only environment, but heredity also 
must be taken into account in analyzing the causes of 
poverty. Each case of dependency has its roots in a 
number of causes which lie both in the individual and in 
his environment, 
cc 



434 Problems of American Democracy 

Evolution in the field of biology may offer us a helpful 
parallel. Society may be regarded for most individuals as 
Theory oj a form of the struggle for existence. Some 
evolution. environments are more favorable to survival 
than others. Again, variations exist between individuals; 
some are stronger, wiser, and more efficient than others. 
We have seen that in human society artificial handicaps 
may also exist, for there is not always equality of oppor- 
tunity. Modern selection does not always eliminate the 
unfit, but merely places them in the lower or poverty 
group. Altruism in modern civilization expresses itself in 
the building of almshouses and in the organization of 
charity. Human society also differs from the animal world 
because of the existence of a directive intelligence, by means 
•of which man may transform his environment and make 
purposive changes for his own betterment. 

Causes of Poverty. — A people may suffer from poverty 

because of the barrenness of the physical environment due 

to poor soil or other natural restrictions. Migra- 

mentah" tions from poorer to richer regions then result in 

Physical wars. Again, there may be unfavorable climatic 

environment. . 

conditions, such as an excess of moisture or a 
lack of rainfall, as found in swamp lands and deserts. 
Scientific agriculture has done much for the productivity 
of such regions and has made them more capable of sup- 
porting a larger population. Natural forces may produce 
floods, earthquakes, storms or droughts, and cause a given 
locality to suffer from temporary poverty or even pauperism. 
Illustrations of this fact are found in the Johnstown flood, 
in the San Francisco earthquake, and in the storm of 
Galveston. Fires in our great cities have, by force of 
accident, reduced many families of means to actual want. 



The Problem of Poverty 



435 




436 Problems of American Democracy 

Again, certain diseases, like malaria and hook-worm, 
flourish in particular environments. Inhabitants of these 
regions are regarded as indolent and shiftless, whereas 
their constitutions are really undervitalized by environ- 
mental circumstances. 

The chief objective causes of poverty, however, lie in 
the economic environment. By the use of improved 
Economic methods of production, western nations have 
environment. reac h ec i a better economic adjustment than the 
Orient, where poverty is more rampant. Nevertheless, 
we have seen that our own progressive and democratic 
society permits many maladjustments, such as occupational 
diseases, industrial accidents, and child labor. Social 
insurance is an important ally in the war against pauperism. 
Low wages afford a most important cause of poverty. The 
total income for many families is insufficient to maintain a 
normal standard of living. Unemployment is another 
economic maladjustment resulting in poverty. Cycles of 
business depression and seasonal unemployment are 
attended by an enormous rise in the poverty rate. Periods 
of financial distress and industrial crises cause a terrific 
strain upon relief organizations. Strikes and lockouts 
have a similar effect. That changes in industry may 
produce temporary hardship is well illustrated by the 
transition from the domestic to the factory system. A bad 
system of land tenure, such as existed in England during 
the time of the enclosures, produces much poverty. The 
rapid industrialization of the United States since the 
Civil War has had its accompanying social cost in increased 
poverty. Before this transition, the great Mississippi 
Valley for many years furnished a supply of free land to 
those- in our own country who cared to move westward. 



The Problem of Poverty 437 

In fact, the poverty problem in America may be said to 
date from the increasing exhaustion of this supply of free 
land. Other economic causes of poverty may be found in 
various maladjustments brought about by changing 
economic conditions. 

Social environment is another factor in the problem of 
poverty. Unsanitary living conditions may be as much 
the cause, as the result, of poverty. We have social 
already spoken of bad housing conditions in ™™° nment - 
connection with the problem of the city. Such conditions 
may produce sickness, which often results in the death or 
unemployment of the wage earner. Thus, the family 
becomes dependent upon the charity of the community, a 
situation which might have been obviated by different 
living conditions. Sickness or death of the bread winner 
may be merely the immediate and most obvious cause of 
poverty resulting from bad housing. Such distinctions are 
important, for in each case of poverty there are numerous 
contributory causes. Again, the associations that pre- 
vail in the congested districts of a great city may injure 
the morals, as much as the health, of those concerned. 
Idleness, shiftlessness, or degeneracy in family life may 
thus result in poverty. The saloon, the immoral dance 
hall, vicious theatres and amusement places have often led 
to the dissipation of funds required for the necessities of 
life. Moreover, such sordid pleasures inculcate ideas other 
than those of steady industry and produce a degenerating 
effect upon the health and morals of the worker. Again, 
unrestricted immigration may be as injurious to the immi- 
grant himself as to the American worker, whose wages and 
standards of living he lowers. Our study of immigration 
has shown how large a percentage of the recipients of char- 



438 Problems of American Democracy 

ity are foreign born. Unwise philanthropy as a factor 
in poverty will be discussed in the following chapter. It 
will be sufficient to state here in this connection that, so 
long as begging is more profitable than working, poverty 
will spread throughout society. 

Political corruption often returns to power the legislator 
who fails to pass laws for the good of those who elect him. 
Defects in Because of inadequate legislation, monopoly 
government. p r i ces ta k e too i arge a s hare of the laborer's 

wages, child labor continues to harass his family, and the 
building inspector fails to report his landlord's condemned 
tenement. Legislation is no panacea for social ills, but 
wise laws and their proper enforcement are necessary to 
progressive adjustment. They are an essential part of 
any scheme of social reform. Again, bribery of the voter 
may result in the purchase of the necessities of life for some 
poverty-stricken individual. The ward "boss" may be to 
him a greater help in time of trouble than the local charity 
organization. Such a policy, however, is to say the least 
short sighted, because it does not eliminate the causes and 
conditions which give rise to poverty. The poor man's 
vote should compel beneficial legislation for social reform. 
The attitude toward government is changing and its 
sphere of activity widening. Like other institutions of 
society, government is being socialized. It must provide 
for the public health and recreation, as well as for the pub- 
lic safety. Bad housing conditions and unsanitary work- 
ing conditions are a reproach to good government. 

Among other ideals, education should aim to make the 
individual self-supporting. Lack of industrial training in 
our public schools has been one cause of dependency. Until 
recently, it often happened that a boy could not receive 



The Problem of Poverty 439 

training in a trade at public expense unless he committed a 
crime and was sent to the industrial school Defects in 
or to the reformatory. Statistics also show education - 
that the proportion of illiteracy and ignorance among 
dependents is abnormally high. 

Let us now inquire into those causes of poverty which 
are individual rather than environmental in nature. Pau- 
perism is an acquired characteristic and conse- Individua i 
quently not hereditary. But a physical and causes: 
mental degeneracy, causing poverty or pauper- 
ism, may be inherent in the germ cell and therefore heredi- 
tary. This fact would seem to explain why pauperism may 
"run" in a given family and be regarded by the unin- 
formed as hereditary. Such degeneracy may take various 
forms in the second generation. The offspring of a drunken 
parent may incline toward both drunkenness and pauper- 
ism. Neither characteristic is strictly speaking hereditary, 
as is the inherent weakness or degeneracy which produces 
it. The physical and mental stamina of certain stocks 
may be subnormal, and their offspring, under force of cir- 
cumstances, may drift into one of the various social debtor 
classes. They may also be regarded as inferior variations, 
which cannot care for themselves in society's struggle for 
existence. Certain studies of degenerate families seem to 
bear out this conclusion. For example, a study of the 
Jukes family by Dugdale shows a long line of descendants 
traced in prison records, almshouses, and drunkards' graves. 
The influence of the social environment of a particular 
family is also important, but must not be confused with its 
heredity. The only members of the Jukes family, for 
example, who amounted to anything were those who left 
their old associations and started life afresh in some new 



44° Problems of American Democracy 

community. Dr. Goddard finds his clue to degeneracy 
and pauperism in feeble-mindedness, and estimates that 
one-half of the inmates of almshouses are feeble-minded. 
Since feeble-mindedness is hereditary, and not acquired, 
we are able to understand how many cases of pauperism 
may appear in the same family. This is the theme of his 
most readable little story of the Kallikak family. Only 
segregation of the feeble-minded will prevent the propaga- 
tion of their kind and the passing on to future generations 
of degeneracy and pauperism. 

Disease is a most important cause of poverty. Dr. 
Devine states that seventy-five per cent of poverty is due 
to disease; not twenty-five per cent as is usually 
supposed. It is certain that from twenty-five to 
forty per cent of all cases applying for relief represent a 
temporary or permanent disability due to sickness. This 
is the individual expression of such objective causes as 
unsanitary living conditions, improper housing, bad work- 
ing conditions, and dangerous trades. 

Although the importance of intemperance as a cause of 
poverty has probably been exaggerated, nearly one-fourth 
intemper- of all cases coming before charity organizations 
ance - were traced to the ravages of alcohol. The 

Committee of Fifty, who investigated this subject several 
years ago, found that over forty-one per cent of the 
inmates of almshouses owed their condition directly or indi- 
rectly to alcoholic excess. Before the advent of prohibition, 
many families lived in want and squalor because the bread 
winner persisted in spending his income in the saloon. 
As a destroyer of efficiency alcohol was a frequent cause 
of unemployment. Intemperance is a subjective cause of 
poverty, but it has its roots in numerous objective causes 



The Problem of Poverty 441 

such as pernicious social customs, long hours of work, and 
poor facilities for recreation. Immorality must also be 
mentioned, for Dugdale places it even ahead of intem- 
perance as the cause of degeneracy in the Jukes family. 

The imprisonment of the bread winner is a frequent 
cause of poverty to his family. Society shelters, feeds, and 
clothes the criminal, but permits innocent mem- 
bers of his family to suffer. To remedy this 
injustice some states have passed laws by which the prod- 
ucts of convict labor are turned over to their families. 

Desertion by the head of the family appears in from five 
to ten per cent of all cases of dependency in our large cities. 
Children may be abandoned by their parents, or 

T f Desertion. 

wives by their husbands. In the case of many 
destitute families, relatives show a remarkable indifference 
to their condition. Charity workers find a surprising 
amount of neglect upon the part of near relations and a 
failure to help in cases of dependency. 

Death of the main support appears in from ten to twenty 
per cent of relief cases. Some form of social insurance for 
the poor, or a sound life insurance system within 
their reach, is earnestly advocated. Widows main 

support. 

and orphans, however, have always appealed to 
human sympathy, and funds given by philanthropists have 
founded numerous institutions for the care of such persons. 
Charity workers find little difficulty in caring for orphans, 
for more funds are at their disposal for this group of des- 
titutes than for any other. 

Old age is frequently a cause of dependency, and the 
almshouse is often the final home for the aged. Such a 
situation is cruelly unfair. Many old persons have been 
industrious workers and have reared large families. But, 



442 Problems of American Democracy 

now, having outgrown their period of usefulness, they are 

incapacitated for further work. Old age pensions would 

lift the stigma of the poor-house from the aged, 

Old age. ...... 

who have no means of support for their declining 
years. Society should at least provide separate and com- 
fortable homes for the aged, where husband and wife will 
not be parted and where they will not come into contact 
with the feeble-minded, the degenerate, and other sub- 
normal groups found in the average almshouse. 

Defectives are frequently public charges. The crippled 
and the blind constitute a large proportion of the beggars 

upon our streets. At present, the almshouse is 

Defectives 

the general depository for most of these varied 
groups. Special methods of treatment for each class of 
defectives will be discussed in a later chapter in which this 
group of social debtors will be carefully analyzed. 

Shiftlessness and laziness are individual characteristics 
which may lead to poverty and pauperism. It is esti- 
mated that from ten to fifteen per cent of all 

Indolence. ...... 

cases of distress may be attributed to these indi- 
vidual weaknesses. However, a number of so-called cases 
of laziness were found, upon physical examination, to be 
due to an undervitalized health condition. For example, 
the shiftlessness of the "poor white trash" of the South 
was found in some cases to be due to hook-worm. Malaria 
may play the same role, and poor health and malnutrition 
may result in a lowered vitality. Again, retarded school 
children in slum districts were found upon examination 
to be underfed and anaemic. Environment, however, will 
not explain every such case; for there are some individuals 
who are inherently lazy and shiftless. Again, many poor 
people are in a condition of poverty because of their own 



The Problem of Poverty 443 

improvidence. A lack of judgment prevents their exer- 
cising a wise economy in applying their earnings to the 
purchase of food, clothing, and other necessaries. Scar- 
city of funds also necessitates buying in small quantities 
and only for immediate consumption. Hence the poor are 
often over-charged. For these reasons, tactful settlement 
workers are carefully studying the manner in which the 
poor spend their small incomes and are seeking to advise 
them as to what constitutes wise economy. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Define poverty in its sociological sense. 

2. Distinguish between poverty and pauperism. 

3. What is your opinion about the final elimination of poverty? 

4. Give an estimate of the extent of poverty in the United States. 

5. Give an estimate of the extent of pauperism. 

6. How has our point of view regarding poverty changed? 

7. Why is it important to study the causes of poverty? 
S. What mistakes did several reformers make? 

9. Explain poverty from the standpoint of the theory of evolution. 

10. Explain how the causes of poverty overlap. 

11. Distinguish between the immediate and the remote, or the 
main and the contributory, causes of poverty. 

12. What two-fold classification do we make of the causes of 
poverty? 

13. Explain the relation of the physical environment to poverty. 
Give illustrations. Give others not in the text. 

14. Give the economic causes of poverty. 

15. Give the causes resident in the social environment. Name 
others besides those in the text. 

16. Show how one factor may be both a cause and a result of 
poverty. 

17. What defects of government and of our educational system 
increase poverty? 

18. Explain the relation of degeneracy to pauperism. 



444 Problems of American Democracy 

19. Is pauperism hereditary if it seems to "run" in the same 
family in successive generations? 

20. Name in order of importance the various causes of poverty 
resident in the individual. 

21. Discuss each. 

22. What is often the cause of laziness? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The relation of heredity to poverty. 

2. The causes of poverty of the "X" family. (A study of some 
poor family with which you are acquainted. Distinguish between 
immediate and remote causes). 

3 . The alleged improvidence of the poor as a cause of poverty. 

4. The amount of poverty in the largest city nearest you. 

5. The effects of the World War upon poverty in Europe and 
America. 

6. Economic causes of poverty. (Prepare as complete a list as 
possible by reviewing the earlier sections of the book.) 

7. The effect of prohibition upon poverty. 

8. A study of the almshouse. 

9. The Jukes. 

10. The Kallikak family. 

REFERENCES 

Devine, E. T. Misery and Its Causes. 

Dugdale, R. L. The Jukes. 

Ellwood, C. A. Sociology and Modern Social Problems. Chapter 
XIII. 

Goddard, H. H. The Kallikak Family. 

Henderson, C. R. Dependents, Defectives and Delinquents. Chap- 
ters I to IV. 

Hunter, R- Poverty. 

Smith, S. G. Social Pathology. 

Warner, A. G. American Charities. Chapters II to V. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

The Organization of Charity 

I. History of charity 
i. Early times 

2. Middle Ages 

3. England — the poor law 

4. America — indoor and outaoor relief: 

a. The difference 

b. Relative value 

5. Germany — Elberfeld system 

6. The modern point of view: 

a. Its character 

b. The trend of progress 
II. The almshouse 

1 . General character 

2. Special defects 

3. Needed reforms 

4. The remedies 

III. Outdoor and private relief 
1. The Church 
2 Medical charities 

3. Private associations : 

a. Their nature 

b. Their dangers 

4. Charity organization societies: 

a. Methods 

b. Justification 

5. Principles of relief 

6. Friendly visiting in the family 

7. Social settlements 

8. Care of dependent children 

445 



446 Problems of American Democracy 

History of Charity. — Charity in its old sense of alms- 
giving is a very ancient practice extolled by Hindu, 
Early Chinese, and Egyptian philosophers.* In early 

Athens a poor tax was regularly collected, and 
in Judea the synagogue was the center of relief for the 
poor. Its successor, the Christian Church, attempted in 
early times to socialize wealth through a process of com- 
munism. One of the first officers in the primitive church 
was the deacon, whose chief duty was to look after the 
poor of the congregation. Ancient Rome was said to 
have had asylums for abandoned children and for 
wounded soldiers. The poor may have sought shelter in 
the public baths of Rome, as they do at present in our 
own parks and public buildings. Trajan is reported to 
have cared for five thousand poor children. The most 
famous relief in Rome, however, was what was known as 
" Caesar's bread." This was the name given to the system 
whereby the poor Roman citizen could obtain food from 
the public granaries free, or at a very low price. It has 
been estimated that at the time of Julius Caesar three 
hundred and twenty thousand persons were registered for 
the free distribution of grain. Although intended as a 
social reform by Gracchus, its vicious and pauperizing 
influence upon the Roman people may be seen in the 
laziness and immorality of the later Empire. It is the 
classical example of unwise philanthropy which destroys 
independence by removing the necessity for work. 

In the Middle Ages almsgiving was regarded as a method 
of securing the favor of heaven. The effect upon the 
Middle giver seemed more important than the result 
Ages ' upon the recipient of alms. The medieval 

ascetic spirit founded numerous monasteries which served 



The Organization of Charity ■ 447 

as inns for weary pilgrims and travelers. That riches were 
associated with sin, and poverty with saintly character, is 
well illustrated by St. Francis of Assisi and by the Order of 
Poor Friars. A monastery was usually the center of alms- 
giving, and indiscreet charity often produced a great 
increase in the number of beggars who thronged the doors 
of the beautiful cathedrals. The Church, however, was 
the only organized force in the Middle ages which attempted 
to alleviate distress by founding hospitals, asylums, and 
retreats for children and unfortunates. 

With the break-up of serfdom, European nations began 
to pass laws against vagrancy and wandering serfs. The 
dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII „ , , 

J J England— 

of England increased the amount of unrelieved the Poor 
distress. It was not until the age of Elizabeth, 
however, that the State began to supersede the Church as 
the dispensing agent of charity. Laws were passed which 
became the foundations of the famous English Poor Law. 
The parish was to make a list of its poor, who were to be 
helped by the compulsory contributions of the more 
prosperous. The administration of these laws tended to 
increase pauperism and the consequent expenditure for 
relief. All the needy were to receive help, and, as almost 
all laborers were needy, they were entitled to the stipend. 
This situation was undermining the independence and 
manhood of the English workman. Again, this condition 
was being exploited by employers, who refused to raise 
wages because of the State's supplement to labor's income. 
It has been estimated that the amount spent for poor 
relief in 181 8 reached 7,870,801 pounds, or almost forty 
million dollars, for a population of only eleven million 
people. In 1832 a royal commission was appointed to 



448 Problems of American Democracy 

investigate the matter of state relief. It was found that 
a man was often economically better off when rated as a 
pauper, than when rated as an independent worker. In 
1834 a new Poor Law Act was passed. It provided for a 
central government board and inspectors to examine the 
work of the local authorities. No state relief was to be 
given to the destitute, if able-bodied. They must seek 
the work-house to be built by the union of parishes. The 
cessation of public outdoor relief was marked by a great 
decrease in the amount of pauperism. The work-house 
now became the only institution of public charity. Its 
deadening character and maladministration have been 
criticized by many reports and pictured in many works of 
fiction. Its counterpart, the American almshouse, will be 
discussed in a later section. 

By indoor relief is meant the institutional care of the 
poor supported in almshouses. Outdoor relief is the caring 
for this same dependent group in their own 
indoor and homes by gifts of money, provisions, or other 
relief V necessaries. Indoor relief is a recognized func- 
Thedif- tion of the modern State, for otherwise indi- 

Jerence. 

viduals might die upon the streets. Outdoor 
relief, however, as a state function, is still a matter of 
debate. The very helpless should be placed in institu- 
tions, but the care of those in slight need had, perhaps, 
best be left to private and individual charity. We have 
seen the history of public outdoor relief in England and 
know why it was stopped. In America there has been no 
consistent national policy. Public outdoor relief may 
exist in one community and be absent in another. Most 
of our large cities, like New York and Philadelphia, have 
abandoned this policy. When it was abandoned in 



The Organization of Charity 



449 



Brooklyn, it was surprising to note how the appeals to 
private charitable organizations failed to show the increase 
that had been expected. The inference drawn from this 
fact is that much of the former public outdoor relief had 
not been needed, or had been unwisely distributed. 









The Bread Line at the Bowery Mission 

There are arguments both for and against public outdoor 
relief. In its favor may first be mentioned its apparent 
economy. It seems unnecessary to send an individual, or 
his family, to the poor-house when a slight finan- 
cial aid will permit living at home. Again, since 
the disability of the bread winner may be only 
temporary, outdoor relief often preserves the unity of the 
family. This system is also more flexible and may be varied 

DD 



Relative 
value. 



450 Problems of American Democracy 

according to the needs of the situation. Much of the ap- 
parent economy, however, of public outdoor relief has not 
been a reality. English experience has shown how, like a 
contagion, the acceptance of relief may spread throughout a 
community. Again, giving to the poor requires great dis- 
crimination and an experience in social work not usually 
found in public officials. In many of our cities political 
corruption has vitiated its administration. The probability 
and amount of public outdoor relief has been affected by 
the size of the pauper vote. 

A number of German communities have handled the 

administration of public outdoor relief in a characteristic 

manner. The best known plan is the Elberfeld 

Germany — # x 

Elberfeld system. This is based upon the unpaid personal 
services of citizens acting in systematic coopera- 
tion with each other and under a salaried superintendent. 
There is a thorough examination of each individual 
dependent, a careful guardianship of him during his period 
of dependency, and a consistent effort to help him regain 
his economic independence. Four cases are usually 
assigned to each citizen almoner, who therefore knows 
thoroughly the needs of each dependent family. He is 
empowered to give relief according to a graduated scale 
prescribed by law. 

Modern organized charity is the twentieth century 
development of what was known in earlier times as alms- 
giving. It differs from its early form as much 
point of as the modern locomotive differs from the 
Yts'character P ra iri e schooner. The scientific spirit has 
brought about as great a transformation in 
the methods of charity as in the methods of transporta- 
tion. Poverty is no longer regarded as necessary and 



The Organization of Charity 451 

saintly. It is viewed as a social disease resulting either 
from a faulty social and economic environment or from 
individual delinquencies. The* aim of organized charity is 
no longer the mere giving of alms to relieve an immediate 
distress which may shortly recur. The causes of poverty 
are investigated in the hope that many of them may be 
removed. A list of these causes has already been revealed 
in the previous chapter. 

On the physical side, the productivity of the natural 
environment is being increased and such phenomena as 
droughts and famines are becoming matters of The trend 
scientific prevention. Maladjustments in the Qfy?* & ress ,- 
economic environment are being gradually eliminated, and 
experts in industrial management are attacking the 
problem of unemployment. Unfortunately, however, 
wages inadequate for efficient living still stalk, like gaunt 
spectres, a land of fabulous riches. The social environ- 
ment must also be remodeled. Unsanitary housing con- 
ditions, the congestion of immigrants, and the slums of 
our cities must disappear from the society of to-morrow. 
Defects in our governmental and educational systems 
must also be remedied. The feeble-minded and inherently 
degenerate must be so segregated that they cease to propa- 
gate their kind. Individual and social ideals of health 
and efficiency must be raised to a higher level in order 
that shiftlessness and indolence may be reduced to a 
minimum. All this will not be accomplished by any 
sudden or quick reform, but only by the long, slow process 
of social evolution guided in a progressive manner by 
human intelligence. But while these are our ideals for the 
future of society, we must not neglect the practical problems 
of distress which confront all civilized societies to-day. 



452 Problems of American Democracy 

The Almshouse. — The poor-house is the fundamental 
institution in American relief. It cares for the destitute 
General n °t otherwise provided for, and has been the 
character. s } eve through which all forms of social derelicts, 
except the duly convicted criminal, have passed. The 
almshouse often contains the insane, the epileptic, the 
feeble-minded, the blind, the deaf, the crippled, the sick, 
and those destitute of friends. Here mingle old folks and 
children, men and women, the honest and the dishonest. 
The general characteristic of the almshouse is therefore 
the heterogeneous character of its unclassified and unsegre- 
gated inmates. 

Another characteristic of the almshouse, as it exists in 
many communities, is the transient nature of the inmates 
Special who are admitted and dismissed practically at 

defects. their own option. The drunkard between sprees 
and the tramp between seasons have found shelter within 
its walls. A general exodus of the able-bodied from the 
almshouse takes place in spring, but many return with the 
advent of cold weather. Since little work is done, except 
small jobs about the building, the very group which should 
be taught habits of steady labor is given an excellent 
training in idleness. The institutional life is deadening to 
that very initiative which it should seek to kindle. The 
administration of the building has often been inefficient, 
because the remuneration of the superintendent is not 
always sufficient to attract an able man. As official 
requisites, affiliations with the political party in power are 
usually more important than executive ability, or a knowl- 
edge of social problems and of scientific methods of charity. 
It was formerly common to pay no stated salary to the 
superintendent, but to allow him the proceeds from the 



The Organization of Charity 453 

attached farm. This abominable practice led to innumer- 
able abuses and to the exploitation of the inmates. The 
assistants were also frequently incapable, and the especially 
necessary medical service was often of the lowest standard. 
If any system of inspection was required, it was admin- 
istered in a most perfunctory, if not corrupt, fashion. 

The very nature of these evils cries out for reform. The 
almshouse should not be the "dumping" ground for all the 
destitute classes of society. It should be used Needed 
merely as the temporary clearing house for vari- reforms - 
ous groups of defectives to be assigned later to special 
institutions. The feeble-minded should be put under the 
permanent custody of a special institution; the blind, 
especially the young, should be sent to their own schools ; 
and the tubercular inmates should be placed in sanitariums 
or in special hospital wards. The building of separate insti- 
tutions requires great expenditures of public funds, but it 
is imperatively needed. Children should never be per- 
mitted to grow up in this environment, and old folks, like- 
wise, are deserving of better treatment. Again, the alms- 
house should not be so easy of access and of departure. 
Paupers should be regarded as socially diseased and an 
attempt made to reestablish in them a normal life and pur- 
pose. In comparatively few states are they deprived of 
the right to vote, with the result that at elections they go 
forth to swell the majority of the political organization in 
power. Women frequently use the almshouse as a mater- 
nity hospital, in which are born the illegitimate and feeble- 
minded. 

In order to establish the almshouse on a scientific basis, 
careful records of admission and discharge should be kept 
so that each case may be studied individually. At present, 



454 Problems of American Democracy 

few accounts are filed except those dealing with financial 
expenditures. The almshouse, which should provide a great 
The amount of valuable clinical material, has offered 

remedies, little i n f orma tion f wor th for the student of 
social conditions. Work of sound economic or educational 
value should be afforded those inmates that are physically 
or mentally capable of such labor. The administration 
must also be reformed through efficient governmental super- 
vision. Private institutions, which assume the respon- 
sibility for the lives of inmates and which appeal to the 
public for support, should not be exempt from government 
inspection. Salaries should be adequate and competent 
officials appointed. An efficient corps of medical and social 
workers should be added according to the size and needs 
of the institution. The best system of inspection seems to 
be that of a commission of responsible persons appointed 
by the governor, without pay, but employing a salaried 
secretary and a body of paid inspectors. A separate sal- 
aried board should be charged with the centralized business 
administration of the various state institutions, whose 
activities must be correlated. 

Outdoor and Private Relief. — In general it would 
seem that institutional, or indoor relief, should be under- 
The taken by the State. Many private and religious 

Church. associations, however, maintain their own homes, 
asylums, and other charitable institutions. Many also 
receive large state appropriations, although in most cases 
there is a legal proviso that the institutions so subsidized 
must be of non-sectarian character. Outdoor relief, on the 
other hand, has been left for the most part to private 
charitable associations. Many of these agencies for the 
relief of the poor in their own homes are administered in 



The Organization of Charity 455 

connection with the activities of various church organiza- 
tions. There are in America three main divisions — the 
St. Vincent de Paul Societies of the Roman Catholic 
Church, the United Hebrew Charities, and the various 
societies of the different Protestant sects. There are also 
other independent religious organizations for philanthropic 
work, some of which are most estimable. It is nevertheless 
true that sometimes even the most sincere church charity 
is given in a haphazard fashion. Professional beggars are 
known to have taken advantage deliberately of numerous 
church societies, which make but little investigation of the 
ultimate effects of their donations. Furthermore, different 
sects should cooperate, rather than discriminate, in their 
charitable activities. The unfortunate man who meets 
with an accident upon the street is driven to the nearest 
hospital, Jewish or Gentile, and no questions are asked 
regarding his creed. More of the same spirit in charity 
work is needed. At present, however, it would seem that 
distinct charity organizations based upon religious sects 
have certain inherent advantages. Each religious organi- 
zation understands better, and meets more effectively, the 
needs of its own group. It is also natural for dependents 
to seek help first from members of their own religious sect. 
The most direct aim of medical charities is the relief of 
the physical distress of the poor. The gain is social as 
well as individual, for the community is thereby Medical 
spared the expense involved in the care of an chanties - 
otherwise dependent member of society. Missionaries 
have found that medical assistance is the quickest way to 
reach the hearts and minds of those among whom they 
work. Social workers in our own slums have found this 
fact to be equally true. Many of our large city hospitals 



456 Problems of American Democracy 

have a social service department, whereby the social work- 
ers supplement the work of the surgeon and nurse by follow- 
ing up the cases discharged from the hospital as cured. 
Medical charity is also a means of diffusing information 
regarding health, hygiene, and sanitation. Organized 
medical charity protects the public health. A municipal 
hospital is primarily designed to care for contagious dis- 
eases, and similarly adequate provision should be made for 
tubercular patients. Maternity hospitals or wards have 
been established for the poor, while orthopedic hospitals 
correct the deformities of growing children. It is also pos- 
sible for the poor to have their eyes examined free and thus 
to correct faulty vision. Finally, there are free dis- 
pensaries for the dressing of wounds and for the care of 
other physical ills, as well as free wards for undergoing 
surgical operations and for treatment during serious illness. 
Although medical charities have been taken advantage of 
by many individuals who are able to pay for medical aid, 
their benefits far outweigh any well-founded objections 
charged against them. 

Private charitable associations are especially needed 
when experiments are to be tried and pioneer work 

attempted. Much of the charitable work that 
associa- is now done by government institutions, was 
™™r e first undertaken by a group of individuals who 

proved, by practical experimentation, what could 
be done along certain lines. All kinds of philanthropic work 
are carried on by private associations. There are homes for 
orphans, for crippled children, and for the aged, founded 
by benevolent individuals. There are also private asylums 
for certain classes of defectives for whom the State has 
made no adequate provision. There are an infinite 



The Organization of Charity 457 

number of large and small associations for the relief of the 
poor in their own homes. Free employment bureaus, 
housing commissions, and settlement houses in poverty- 
striken quarters have been founded by private philanthropy. 
All honor should be accorded such public-spirited citizens 
and the spirit of altruism which impelled them. Such 
institutions represent one of the noblest characteristics of 
modern civilization. 

Private charities, however, have their own peculiar 
dangers. They are so easily formed that there is a con- 
stant temptation to multiply them. It there- Their 
fore happens that some fields are overcrowded, an ^ ers - 
while others are neglected. Again, the funds of a small 
association are inadequate to carry on the work proposed, 
but would be effective for a stronger organization doing 
similar work. Among these numerous good societies, it is 
easy also for fraudulent ones to flourish and to collect 
money for supposedly benevolent purposes. Again, money 
may be spent sincerely, but foolishly, according to the 
eccentricity of the donor. Public-spirited individuals, who 
wish to make bequests, would do well to consult some 
official in the local society for organized charity. In this 
manner a good perspective of the field would be obtained, 
as well as expert advice from a professionally trained 
social worker. 

Charity organization societies — or similar associations 
known by slightly different names — exist in most of the 
large cities of Great Britain and the United Charity 
States. The pioneer American organization in organiza- 
this field is the Society for Organizing Charity, societies: 
established in 1877, in the city of Buffalo. 
Its purpose may be regarded as that of a central 



458 Problems of American Democracy 

clearing house for all forms of outdoor relief. Its aim is 
not so much to furnish material aid to the destitute as to 
help restore them to economic independence. The causes 
of poverty are studied in order that conditions in the 
environment may be improved. Cases requiring imme- 
diate need are referred to a particular charity to care for 
them. Thus, the central organization acts as a directive 
agency rather than as a means of distribution of material 
help. If an individual is out of work, employment is 
sought at one of the employment agencies; if sick or 
diseased, admission is secured to a free ward in a hospital 
or in a special asylum. If a family seems in need of help, 
the society sends a trained worker to make a careful study 
of the case, which is duly recorded in a card index system. 
Recommendations are made to benevolent societies likely 
to give aid, or the aid of the former employer, of relatives, 
and of friends is solicited in order to help the unfortunate 
to regain his economic independence. 

The Society for Organizing Charity has been criticized 

because so small a proportion of its funds is spent for 

actual relief and so large a proportion for 

Justification. . 

red tape. Again, some object to its alleged 
sense of superiority which seeks to direct other societies. 
Answers to these objections are unnecessary. In the matter 
of real social service there can be no such thing as an 
assumption of superiority. The need of organization and 
investigation is so great as to make imperative a central 
society for that particular purpose . Its case records are open 
to other charity societies which seek to give aid, but which 
have neither the time nor ability for investigation. The 
so-called "red tape" prevents the success of impostors. 
Hence, all individuals or private associations for the dis- 



The Organization of Charity 459 

pensing of charity will do well to seek this central society 
for information as to the relative needs of their various 
applicants. The Society for Organizing Charity seeks also 
to prevent overlapping and waste of energy. If all the 
charities of a city would report to this one central clearing 
house all that they are doing, they could easily learn from 
how many sources any given applicant is receiving help. 
Beggars upon the street should be referred to this society, 
and solicitors for funds should produce its written endorse- 
ment before receiving favorable consideration. 

The first principle of relief would seem to be the securing 
of adequate knowledge before giving aid to the applicant. 
Is the family in actual need, or is it seeking to Principles 
live as a parasite upon the community? What of rehef - 
kind of aid and what amount is needed? The habit of 
indiscriminate almsgiving on the street is a most pernicious 
practice. Many beggars are impostors, while others should 
be placed in special institutions for defectives. It is wise 
to remember that indiscriminate help may eventually injure, 
rather than aid, the recipient. In the second place, the 
aim of relief should be to secure as far as possible the eco- 
nomic independence of the needy. Thus, the remote cause 
of poverty must be removed, not merely the immediate dis- 
tress. The terms ' ' worthy and unworthy ' ' should be replaced 
by "needy and not needy." No relief should be given to 
those who are capable of supporting themselves. In some 
cases discipline of the applicant is needed rather than any 
relief. Legal measures must also be taken in such cases as 
that of the husband who deliberately deserts his wife and 
children. A third principle of relief is to teach the helpless 
how to help themselves, rather than actually to help them in 
the most direct manner. A fourth principle of scientific 



460 Problems of American Democracy 

relief is the careful supervision of the recipient of charity. 
This is well done by what is known as "friendly visiting," 
a principle to which separate consideration will be given. 
In conclusion, let it be stated that scientific charity does 
not seek to do less but more for the poor. It might 
seem, from what has been said, that organized relief tends 
to suppress the impulse of generosity. Nothing, however, 
could be farther from the truth; for scientific charity 
simply seeks to make relief more effective by a better 
direction of its usefulness. Thus there arises a science of 
philanthropy which emphasizes service rather than mere 
alms-giving. 

In order to investigate the cases, and to supervise the 
work of organized charity, a corps of social workers is 
necessary. These are known as "friendly vis- 
Friendly itors." They do more than merely supply food 

visiting in . . 

the family and clothing to the needy. Their aim is the 
rehabilitation of the family life and the restora- 
tion of normal standards of health, efficiency, and morality. 
This new profession of social service requires infinite tact, 
sound judgment, common sense, an attractive personality, 
and a considerable knowledge in a particular field. A 
knowledge of local means of medical relief, of laws of land- 
lord and tenant, of hygiene and food values is essential to 
the success of such work. The friendly visitor must 
become personally acquainted with the individuals in the 
family and must not pose as the agent of a charity organiza- 
tion. Personal supervision of the dependent and his 
family has been the secret of success of the Elberfeld System. 
Friendly visiting has been an essential part of the work 
of inmates of settlement houses established in the slum 
districts of various cities. Hull House in Chicago, for 



The Organization of Charity 461 

example, has been a center of ennobling influences radiat- 
ing throughout a very dark section of the city. Open 
house is maintained and various forms of recrea- social set- 
tion and games appeal to the young and old. tlements - 
The spirit is fraternal and the inhabitants of the section 
are not dealt with in a patronizing manner. Higher ideals 
of morality, of family life, of industrial efficiency, and of 
personal health and cleanliness are continually upheld. 
Advice is not superimposed, but given incidentally wher- 
ever possible. Such a social settlement ministers to a much 
larger group than paupers and dependents; for many inde- 
pendent and self-respecting people of the poorer class are 
helped by such means to higher standards of living. The 
social settlement not only acts as an antidote to the dangers 
of the big city, but also offsets the baneful influence of the 
streets. Police magistrates and the juvenile courts have 
recognized the value to the delinquent child of such insti- 
tutions. 

In conclusion, one word may be said concerning the care 
of dependent children. No child should be permitted to 
remain for any length of time in the poor-house. 

1/3XG or 

Unfortunately many orphanages are but little dependent 
better; for the institutional atmosphere of such 
places is deadening to the growing child. The cottage 
system, consisting of a number of small houses each under 
a house mother, is immeasureably superior to the insti- 
tutional plan. The securing of homes in real families is 
undoubtedly the best plan, although it requires great care 
in selection. Since it is fairly easy to secure adoption, 
some method of visitation should be maintained afterward. 
The child of the depraved home presents a more complex 
problem than the orphan. Where great cruelty is prac- 



462 Problems of American Democracy 

ticed, or where the parents are immoral or habitually 
intoxicated, the courts may take the child out of the home 
and place it elsewhere. This is only done in extreme cases, 
because one important principle of relief is to keep the fam- 
ily intact and the child under the influence of its mother. 
For that reason, the state of Illinois inaugurated the system 
of pensioning widows with children. Under such a system, 
the poverty-stricken mother is not compelled to part with 
her child whose support might otherwise have been prob- 
lematical. The opponents of this law maintain that it 
cannot be administered without abuses. Day nurseries 
have been established in some districts, where poverty 
compels mothers to work for long hours in factory, shop, 
or domestic service. While this plan is a dangerous invita- 
tion to many to shift the care of their children from the 
home to the nursery, the only other alternatives are to 
confine the little ones in the close rooms of the tenement 
or to allow them to roam the neighboring streets and alleys. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1 . Tell of the effects of the free distribution of grain in Rome. 

2. What was the medieval attitude toward charity? 

3 . Explain the effects of the English Poor Law. 

4. Give the arguments for and against public outdoor relief in 
America. 

5. What has been its history in this country? 

6. Why do you think it has succeeded in some German cities? 

7. Describe the Elberfeld system. 

8. How does the modern point of view regarding poverty and 
charity compare with the older? 

9. What is the outlook for the future? 

10. What are the chief characteristics of the almshouse? 

11. What reforms can you suggest? 

12. Discuss the strong and weak points of church charities. 



The Organization of Charity 463 

13. What charitable associations have you ever seen at work? 

14. Justify medical charities as a community function 

15. What are some dangers of numerous private charitable associ- 
ations? 

16. What is the purpose of the Charity Organization Society? 

17. Show its relation to other charitable organizations. 

18. Why is the work of a "friendly visitor" difficult? 

19. Why is it necessary to investigate cases and why does the 
dependent family need supervision? 

20. When is it necessary to remove children from their homes? 
Is this a usual policy? 

21. What should be your attitude toward beggars upon the street? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The charitable work of the medieval monks. 

2. The charity work of your church or club. 

3. The work of your nearest Society for Organizing Charity. 

4. Outdoor relief in your community. 

5. The work of Hull House or some other social center. 

6. The work of some orphanage. (A personal visit should follow 
the study of the institution's published report.) 

7. How a group of students might best cooperate in some form of 
valuable- social work. 

8. Local laws upon begging and their enforcement. 

9. Principles of scientific relief. 

10. The work of Herbert Hoover during the World War. 

REFERENCES 

Addams, J. Twenty Years at Hull House. 

Devine, E. T. Principles of Relief. 

Devine, E. T. The Family and Social Work. 

Henderson, C. R. Dependents, Defectives and Delinquents. Part II. 

Henderson, C. R. Modern Methods of Charity. 

Mangold^ G. B. Child Problems. Book V. 

Richmond, M. E. Friendly Visiting. 

Smith, S. G. Social Pathology. 

Warner, A. G. American Charities. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

The Problem of Crime 

I. Nature of crime 
i. Its character: 

a. In early days 

b. In modern times 

2. Crime and the law: 

a. Early development 

b. Changing social standards 

3. Extent of crime 

4. Cost of crime 

5. Alleged increase 
II. Causes of crime 

1. Environmental: 

a. Physical environment 

b. Economic environment 

c. Social environment: 

(1) Density of population 

(2) Family life and nationality 

(3) Changing social conditions 

d. Defects in government 

e. Defects in education 

2. Individual: 

a. Hereditary traits 

b. Acquired traits 

c. Age and sex 

3. Preventive measures 

III. Classification of crimes and criminals 

1. Classes of crimes 

2. Classes of criminals 

3. An old theory 

464 



The Problem of Crime 465 

Nature of Crime. — The advance of civilization has 
been marked by greater security of life and property. The 
function of the State in whatever form it existed It 
was to protect the members of the group, not character: 

1 r 4. 'J • U 4- 1 t Early days. 

only from outside invasion, but also from 
unsocial individuals within. The growth of association 
branded as criminals those who refused to cooperate in pre- 
serving the social order. The "King's Peace" was the 
first expression of the growing police power of the State. 
Early conditions, in comparison with modern, presented 
a greater amount of turmoil and confusion. In ancient 
Rome, gangs of cutthroats and freed gladiators were 
hired for the work of assassination. The cities of medieval 
and modern Europe. were notoriously unsafe. The carry- 
ing of rapiers became a social custom founded upon neces- 
sity. As late as the reign of Queen Anne, the narrow, 
unlighted streets of London were harassed by foot-pads 
and "gentlemen" who played "pranks" upon their vic- 
tims. Outlaws, like the fabled Robin Hood, were so 
numerous in the rural districts as to make travelling unsafe. 
Not only were piracy and smuggling common, but the 
government itself resorted to the press gang in order to 
recruit naval enlistments. 

Modern society has been made much safer by the repres- 
sion of such disorders, so that in the course of centuries 
there has been a great decrease in the number Modern 
of brutal and serious crimes. While numerous Umes ' 
individual cases of cruel crime still exist, they are not nearly 
so common and flagrant in character. Modern society, 
however, has a new type of unsocial individual in its midst, 
more polished and less brutal, but equally dangerous. 
Professor Ross well describes him in "Sin and Society." 

EE 



466 Problems of American Democracy 

The complexity and organization of twentieth century 
society permits him to work at long range and with less 
fear of detection. Instead of running a dagger through 
his victim, the modern criminal may supply impure milk, 
or adulterated food, with the same deadly result. Or, 
rather than loot a house and carry off the goods, he may 
wreck financial undertakings and rob innocent stock- 
holders. Although the old brutal crimes are therefore 
not so numerous, a new type of refined criminal has sprung 
into existence. Hence the development of commerce and 
industry has made necessary the enactment of new criminal 
laws. 

The simplest definition of crime is that of violation of the 

law. Crimes are wrongful acts against society, or against 

individuals, punishable by legal penalty. At 

Crime and , . . , -, . , 

the law: one time, crime was regarded simply as an 
Early dead- offense against the individual affected. The 

opmenl. ° 

aggrieved man or his family sought vengeance 
against the offender without the intervention of the group 
as a whole. Gradually, however, the idea grew up that 
crimes were offenses not only against individuals, but also 
against society. The newly established social order was 
regarded as being threatened by such unsocial individuals. 
Therefore, the political unit, whether in the form of the 
patriarchal family, the tribe, the feudal group, or the nation 
was forced to meet its own problem of social control. The 
group, not the individual, thus came to punish crime. To 
this day, however, torts require the initial action of the 
individual, rather than the State, for their redress. In 
order to define and punish crime it was found necessary 
to formulate a body of law, written or unwritten, explain- 
ing what should constitute deviations from the normal 



The Problem of Crime 467 

standard of conduct. A good idea of the civilization of a 
people, or of an age, may be obtained from its code of laws. 
A comparison of the Twelve Tables of early Rome with the 
elaborate Code of Justinian illustrates one phase of the 
social progress attained during the intervening period. 

The legal code reflects not only the degree, but also the 
type, of civilization. Each society punishes most severely 
those crimes which threaten its particular type „, 

x J *■ Changing 

of social organization. In a theocracy bias- social 

standards. 

phemy, and in an absolute monarchy, Use majeste 
are the great crimes against the State. In an industrial 
society new crimes, like the falsification of records and the 
forging of checks, must be defined in the legal code. As 
civilization has advanced, the normal standard of conduct 
has risen. Crime will always be present in society because 
there will always be those who fail to meet the constantly 
rising standards of conduct. Like poverty, crime is some- 
what relative in character. Laws, as the legal expression 
of the group standards of morality, must reflect the popular 
will. Statute books must therefore be kept abreast of the 
changing social conscience. It is unfortunate to have 
obsolete laws upon the statute books, and so-called blue 
laws should either be enforced or repealed. Again, new 
laws should be passed to express new social standards of 
public opinion. Otherwise, individuals may be held 
morally guilty by the community, but their actions may 
be entirely within the law. The social conscience may see 
little difference between unregulated child labor and slav- 
ery, or between certain dangerous trades and murder. But 
this subjective estimate of individual action is not sufficient. 
Public opinion must express itself in laws, and, to secure 
the enforcement of these laws, the social conscience must 



468 Problems of American Democracy 

be educated to the new standard. This process of educa- 
tion should precede the legal enactments which, otherwise, 
will remain unenforced. Prohibition, for example, will 
not become truly effective until it reflects everywhere a 
new standard of social morality. 

The extent of crime is difficult to determine, for the 
number of prisoners convicted and sentenced represents 
Extent of but a fraction of the total number of criminals, 
crime. Many are not even apprehended, while others 

are acquitted because of a lack of convincing evidence. 
Our estimates can be based only upon the number of sen- 
tences rendered, or upon the number of persons actually 
in confinement in a given year. In the United States, 
before the War, the number of annual commitments 
approximated the half million mark. The number of per- 
sons under sentence was about a third of that number. A 
special prison census reported for one year a little over two 
thousand convictions for homicide, while the actual num- 
ber of such crimes committed was several times that figure. 
Indeed, the annual homicide rate in the United States for 
the opening years of the twentieth century was between 
six and seven thousand. England, on the other hand, 
averaged between three and four hundred such cases. 

Mr. Eugene Smith estimated some years ago that in the 
United States there were upwards of a quarter of a million 
Cost of persons who made their living wholly or partially 
crime. ^y committing crime. To maintain these crim- 

inals it cost the country $400,000,000 annually, while 
another annual expenditure of $200,000,000 was necessary 
for their trial and conviction. This total of $600,000,000 
was about the equivalent of the annual sum spent at that 
time for public education in the United States. This esti- 



The Problem of Crime 469 

mate of the cost of crime would probably be conservative 
for the present time. 

The alleged increase in crime in recent years is difficult 
to determine because standards of conduct have not 
remained constant. New laws have been added, Alleged 
and new offenses created, which did not exist increase - 
previously. Moreover, the number of commitments and 
the number of crimes are not identical. Again an apparent 
increase of crime may mean merely that the law is being 
more strictly enforced. There also exists a great dis- 
crepancy between the laws of the different states. It 
would seem, however, to some writers that there has been 
an increase of crime in the United States. This assertion 
is based upon the fact that the prison population has 
increased proportionately more rapidly than the total 
population. Other writers, however, take a different view 
of the matter. European statistics, before the World 
War, did not show any decided increase of crime. If any- 
thing, a slight decrease was noted in some countries of 
continental Europe. England, whose criminal procedure 
is excellent, showed a considerable decrease in the number 
of crimes committed. With the advent of the World War, 
however, began that spirit of recklessness which eventually 
resulted in a temporary spread of crime throughout the 
whole civilized world. 

Causes of Crime. — Both in number and character the 
causes of crime resemble those of poverty. The same set 
of circumstances that may make one individual 
a pauper make another a criminal. The causes mental: 
of crime lie both in the environment and in the ph y. stcai 

environment. 

individual. On the environmental side, there 

seems to be a generally accepted opinion that crimes 



470 Problems of American Democracy 

against person are more common in southern countries, 
and crimes against property are more prevalent in northern 
lands. Similarly, in the same country crimes against 
property, such as burglary, increase in winter, while those 
against persons, like murder and assault, show an increase 
in spring and summer. Curves of the increase and decrease 
of crime which have been plotted graphically show this 
variation according to climate and season. Weather influ- 
ences also have a decided influence upon conduct, as all 
individuals in charge of large groups have noticed. War- 
dens in prisons and asylums note a decided difference in the 
conduct of the inmates upon clear, crisp, windy days and 
upon damp days with high humidity. 

The economic causes of crime are quite similar to those 
of poverty. Individuals react differently to the same set of 
Economic causes. Unemployment may drive one man to 
environment, g^i^ anc } another to beg. Inadequate wages 
may reduce one woman to a standard of living below the 
poverty line, while another of weaker will may become a 
moral delinquent. Throughout this discussion, the student 
should review the economic causes of poverty and observe 
how they are applicable to crime. 

Conditions in large cities are conducive to crime, for 
here social ills and economic maladjustments are intensified. 
Social Glaring contrasts between poverty and riches 

environment. are temptations to illicit gains. Here bad asso- 
ciations are easily formed, for the criminal as well as the 
pauper group gravitates toward the city. Gangs of thieves 
make their quarters in congested districts, like those de- 
picted in Dickens' story of Oliver Twist and in similar tales 
of to-day. After long monotonous hours of toil, immoral 
amusement places are sought for relaxation as an escape 



The Problem of Crime 471 

from crowded tenement houses. The city should therefore 
furnish wholesome recreation centers, which may compete 
with the vicious theatres and dance halls. Motion pictures, 
too, should be censored so that wrongful ideals may not be 
upheld before their audiences. All these conditions are 
typical of the city, which represents a great density of popu- 
lation. At the other extreme, are isolated, sparsely settled 
communities which are also characterized by increased 
criminality. Note, for example, the lawlessness of frontier 
life. The regions between these two extremes of density of 
population are least subject to crime. 

The family should be the chief agent in the socialization 
of the individual. Demoralized homes, which cannot per- 
form this function, furnish an undue proportion of criminals. 
Neglected children and those with false social standards 
seem inclined toward criminal careers. Eighty-five to 
ninety per cent of delinquent children in reform schools 
come from bad homes. On the other hand, a healthy 
family life is antagonistic to crime. The proportion of 
unmarried to married men is also greater in the prisons 
than in the general population. The criminality of the 
negro is from four to five times as high as that of the whites. 
Again, children of the foreign born, rather than the immi- 
grants themselves, show a greater proportion of criminality. 
The South Italian, however, is often prone toward serious 
crimes, and the Irishman toward minor offenses. 

Social drinking in the form of "treating" was formerly a 
bad social custom, and the saloon for many a weak indi- 
vidual was the door to the jail or to the almshouse. The 
effect of prohibition upon the crime rate offers an interest- 
ing field of investigation. The working out of this great 
social reform was at first beset by the abnormal conditions 



472 Problems of American Democracy 

which prevailed in the years following the World War. 
Commitments for minor offenses, however, such as dis- 
orderly conduct, seemed to decrease. Advocates of pro- 
hibition claim a considerable decrease in the population of 
the almshouse and the county jail. On the other hand, 
the illegal sale of liquor breeds contempt for the law which 
is dangerous to society, for the moral attitude of the com- 
munity on this question is vitally important. The number 
of serious crimes showed such an increase in the period 
immediately following the War that attempts were made 
to show a causal relationship between crime and war, as 
well as between crime and prohibition. It has been argued 
that repeated scenes of destruction and bloodshed develop 
a callousness to the loss of life and property. Again 
freedom from military discipline and restraint may have a 
decided reaction upon the morally weak. Hence the 
carrying of concealed weapons is vicious and dangerous to 
society. On the other hand, the elaborate display of 
wealth is a suggestion to crime. 

Defects in law and government increase the amount of 
crime. If the police are lax or criminal in the performance 
Defects in °i duty, crime will flourish, and the criminals 
government. w ^\ k e gj ven political protection by the very offi- 
cers whose duty it is to enforce the law against them. This 
is the story of numerous vice commission reports. The 
legislature and the courts should cooperate to make justice 
swift and certain. In England crime has been reduced by 
this method. A faulty prison system, under which first 
offenders mingle with hardened criminals, is also productive 
of crime. 

Defects in our educational system may indirectly be the 
cause of crime, just as they are of poverty. Illiteracy is 



The Problem of Crime 473 

high in the jails, as well as in the almshouses, and lack of 
industrial training is equally apparent. The Defects in 
teaching of a trade in early years might well have e ucaHon - 
afforded idle hands an opportunity for honest work. 

The causes of crime residing in the individual may be 
hereditary or acquired. Crime is no more hereditary 
than is pauperism, although the physical or 
mental degeneracy back of it may be inherent, causes: 
This degeneracy may be transmissible and ^f ltary 
thereby cause certain families to show criminal 
records. We do not believe, however, that there is a fixed 
criminal type, but that criminality is often the evidence 
and result of inferior biological stock. Investigations of 
criminologists show that criminals in general present a 
greater number of physical abnormalities than the average 
man. Imbeciles, the insane, and epileptics constitute an 
undue proportion of the criminal class. Judges have found 
it difficult to distinguish between crime and insanity, and 
have confessed doubt as to whether the criminal should be 
committed to the penitentiary or to the asylum. Mental 
degeneracy, like feeble-mindedness, may "run" in families, 
producing criminals, paupers, drunkards, and imbeciles. 
The criminal who is inherently degenerate may have 
offspring likely to follow in his footsteps. But the 
criminal who becomes so because of his environment 
will be apt to have normal offspring. 

However, if these children are surrounded by bad 
influences in early childhood, it is easy for them to become 
criminals. The cause lies not in heredity, but Acquired 
in the bad social environment, from which they traits ' 
should have been freed. Acquired traits are the effects 
upon the individual of the social and economic environ- 



474 Problems of American Democracy 

ment in which he lives. These are not usually trans- 
missible. Just as normal conditions produce normal men, 
so an abnormal and unhealthy environment may produce 
the criminal. Intemperance, for example, is an abnor- 
mality brought about by the evils of environment. Some 
years ago the Committee of Fifty found that alcohol was 
the chief cause of crime in thirty-one per cent of all cases 
investigated, and a contributory cause in nearly fifty per 
cent. Bad company and evil associations also loom large 
in many criminal careers. 

Other individual factors affecting crime are age and sex. 
Practically all crime falls within the active period of life, 
Age and between the ages of twenty-one and forty. 
The average age of men in penitentiaries is often 
between twenty-seven and twenty-eight years. Sex is also 
important, for the prison population is largely made up of 
males. Easily nine-tenths of those sentenced to imprison- 
ment are men. 

In order to reduce the amount of crime in society the 
environment must be improved by the removal as far as 
Preventive possible of its causes. Since the reformation of 
the criminal is difficult, the prevention of crime 
should be the aim of society. Three conditions are 
necessary. In the first place, the evils in the environment 
must be corrected. Furthermore, each child should be 
afforded proper development through the normal process 
of education and socialization in the midst of healthy 
surroundings. A third condition is also necessary. There 
must be enough control exercised by society over heredity 
to eliminate, by practical eugenic measures, the inherently 
degenerate in society. 

Classification of Crimes and Criminals. — Serious 



The Problem of Crime 475 

crimes are known as felonies, but the less important, like 
vagrancy, are called misdemeanors. A great difference 
in criminal laws exists among the several states, classes 
Furthermore, their legal codes have vary- ofcnme - 
ing degrees of ' punishment for the same offense. This 
condition frequently works injustice, as well as confusion, 
in the administration of criminal law. Another distinction 
should be made. Vice is an act which injures the individual 
himself, but not necessarily society, which crime does 
affect. Our present social organization is so complex, how- 
ever, that this distinction has lost much of its original 
value. Drunkenness, for example, is becoming as much a 
crime as a vice. Sin is distinctive as an offense against 
God's law rather than man's. A most fundamental dis- 
tinction in classifying crimes is that between crimes against 
persons and crimes against property. Another type of 
modern offense represents crimes against the social order, 
for civilized society seeks to supervise numerous actions — - 
from the regulation of transportation to the issuance of 
marriage licenses. Crimes may be classified subjectively 
as well as objectively. Thus, there may be (1) crimes by 
accident; (2) those of passion; (3) those of premeditation. 
There are numerous classifications of criminals, but the 
most useful is the simple division of criminals into three 
classes: (1) the born; (2) the habitual; and classes of 
(3) the occasional. The born or instinctive cnnunals - 
criminal is the individual of bad heredity and of degenerate 
stock. He may be insane, feeble-minded, or afflicted with 
other hereditary handicaps. The habitual criminal has a 
normal heredity, but has been perverted by an evil environ- 
ment. Hence his criminality is acquired. With the devel- 
opment of bad habits and a vicious point of view, it is 



476 Problems of American Democracy 

almost as difficult for him, as for the born criminal, to lead 
an upright life. Both these types are repeaters before the 
bar of justice. The occasional criminal is rather the single 
offender. He has committed a crime in passion, or under 
the force of circumstances, and is most capable of future 
reformation. 

The great Italian criminologist, Caesar Lombroso, 
expounded the theory of a certain definite criminal type. 
An old To this type, according to his theory, belonged 

theory. most of the individuals who had committed 

serious crimes against society. It could be recognized by 
physical characteristics, such as skull and jaw formation. 
According to this theory certain signs of mental degen- 
eracy, such as insensibility to the sufferings of others, were 
supposed to be present. This class was indifferent to social 
approval or disapproval, and the fact of guilt created no 
sense of shame. This degenerate criminal class was 
regarded as resulting from atavism or reversion to type. 
A primitive man had been born into modern civilized 
society. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Why has an increase in our criminal code of laws become 
necessary? 

2. What acts are now regarded as criminal which were not so 
regarded in the past? 

3. Name some offenses which were formerly regarded as criminal 
but are no longer so regarded. 

4. How do the crimes of the unsocial individual of to-day differ 
from those of the past? 

5. Define crime. 

6. Who punished crime in early society? 

7. Why does crime persist with the advance of civilization? 

8. Explain how law is the legal expression of the group standard 
of conduct. Is it fixed or variable? 



The Problem of Crime 477 

9. Why is the extent of crime difficult to determine? 

10. Give an estimate of the size of the prison population of the 
United States. 

11. What racial groups are conspicuous? 

12. Estimate the cost of crime in the United States. 

13. Is crime increasing? 

14. What influences in the physical environment affect conduct? 

15. Why is crime prevalent in the city? 

16. What practical municipal reforms can you suggest? 

17. How is a healthy family life a preventive of crime? 

18. Name some vicious social customs. 

19. Show how defects in government and political corruption 
increase crime. 

20. Show the relation between crime and hereditary degeneracy. 

2 1 . Show the relation between crime and age ; between crime and sex. 

22. What should be the three aims of preventive measures? 

23. Distinguish between several kinds of crimes. 

24. Give a simple classification of criminals . 

25. Do you believe in a criminal type? Why or why not? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Prohibition and the crime rate. 

2. War and the crime rate. 

3. Crime and city life. 

4. Crime and the negro. 

5. Crime and the immigrant. 

6. The effects of climate and seasons upon crime. 

7. Lombroso and the early school of criminologists. 

8. Acts regarded as crimes in England from 1750-1850. 

9. Make parallel lists of the causes of crime and of the causes of 
poverty. 

10. Eugenic measures for the prevention of crime. 

1 1 . The psychology of crime. 

REFERENCES 

Ellis, H. The Criminal. 

Ellwood, C. A. Sociology and Modem Social Problems. Chapter 
XIV. 



478 Problems of American Democracy 

Hayes, E. C. Introduction to the Study of Sociology. Chapter 

XXXII. 
Henderson, C. R. Dependents, Defectives and Delinquents. Part 

IV. Chapters I, II and V 
Ross, E. A. Sin and Society. 
Smith, S. G. Social Pathology. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

The Treatment of the Criminal 

I. Criminal procedure 

i. Historical development: 

a. Private warfare 

b. Medieval trials 

c. King's court 

d. Jury trial 

e. A body of law 
2. Modern problems: 

a. The legal machinery 

b. Defects in jury system 

c. Suggested reforms 
II. Punishment of crime 

i. Point of view: 

a. Vengeance 

b. Prevention 

c. Reformation 

2. Early treatment: 

a. Former cruelty 

b. Prison reform 

3. The present prison system: 

a. The county jail 

b. Need of special institutions 

c. A plan suggested 

d. Administration: 

(1) Prison life 

(2) Discipline 

(3) Records 

(4) Prison labor 



480 Problems of American Democracy 

4. Advocated reforms: 

a. Indeterminate sentence 

b. Parole 

c. Substitutes for imprisonment 

d. Abolition of capital punishment 

5. Delinquent children: 

a. Juvenile courts 

b. Reform schools 

Criminal Procedure. — In the patriarchal, tribal, and 
feudal stages of society the aggrieved man's cause was 
„. . . championed by his family, tribe, or feudal lord. 

develop- This method of settlement caused endless blood 

ment: • • 

Private feuds, like those which existed between the 

warfare. Arabian tribes, or the clans of the Scotch high- 
landers. The injury was avenged with interest by the per- 
petration of a similar wrong upon the aggressor himself or 
his group. Thus, the strife and confusion continued in the 
well-known feudal warfare of medieval Europe. Such was 
also the condition in ancient Israel where Moses instituted 
cities of refuge in which homicides were temporarily safe 
from the avenger. The altars of ancient temples and of 
medieval cathedrals were protecting sanctuaries. Grad- 
ually, the power of the central government increased and 
took into its own hands the restoration of order and the 
punishment of crime. In time, the injury came to be mea- 
sured in terms of money value. This was known as wergeld 
(worth money) among the Anglo Saxons, and the code of 
King Alfred regulated minutely how much was to be paid 
for the loss of an eye, a hand, or a finger. 

A famous method of trial in the Middle Ages was that 
by ordeal. The religious faith of the period was respon- 
sible for the belief that God would declare, in some miracu- 



The Treatment of the Criminal 481 

lous way, the innocence or guilt of the accused person, who 
was required to place his hand in boiling water or to walk 
over red hot plough shares. If after three Medieval 
days, the wound was regarded as healing, the s ' 
accused was considered innocent. Otherwise he was 
guilty; for God had refused to protect him. A more 
rational method was that of compurgation. The accused 
might bring his friends to swear that they believed his 
oath. If the number of compurgators was not sufficient, 
he must undergo the ordeal. The word of a noble was 
equal to that of several thanes, whose testimony in turn 
outweighed that of ordinary freemen. William the Con- 
queror introduced into England from the continent the 
wager of battle. Each party, like Rebecca in Scott's 
Ivanhoe, chose a champion, and the two warriors fought 
out the cause in the presence of God and man. 

In the Middle Ages there were three kinds of courts — 
those of the nobles, those of the Church, and those of the 
king. The Church tried all sins, such as heresy, The king's 
and the condemned were handed over to the court " 
State for execution. Many other matters, like those per- 
taining to marriage and divorce, fell within her jurisdic- 
tion. Each noble lord also maintained his own court and 
possessed dungeons in his castle for those vassals who 
refused to obey his law. As feudalism declined, most cases 
came gradually into the king's court. The accused received 
a fairer trial from the royal justices upon the circuit than 
from the feudal courts. As the fines and penalties con- 
stituted a considerable source of income, the jurisdiction 
of the king's court became gradually extended. The 
baronial courts came to be things of the past. Certain 
streets, houses, individuals, days, "and other such circum- 

FF 



482 Problems of A merican Democracy 

stances were declared to be under the king's peace, and all 
cases thus arising were to come before the king's court. 
As legal development went on, there came into exist- 
ence two kinds of juries — the petty and the grand. The 
former tried the criminals whom the latter had 

Jury trial. . . 

previously indicted or held for court. The 
king's court in England developed trial by jury as a more 
suitable method of administering justice than the old 
medieval customs just described. The travelling royal 
justice, who was to sit upon the case, issued an order for 
a number of men to investigate the offense and render a 
sworn verdict. In a criminal case, they were to state 
whether they thought the man guilty or not, and, in a civil 
case, they were to designate which of the two parties had 
the better claim. Gradually a distinction was made 
between those who knew the facts and came to be regarded 
as witnesses and those who were unacquainted with the 
facts. The latter were apt to be more impartial and were 
called to pass judgment upon the case. These constituted 
the germ of the petty jury. The grand jury, as well as the 
petty jury, is associated with the reign of Henry II of 
England. At that time there had been a great increase 
in the number of crimes, and the criminals had not been 
apprehended. Hence,. Henry II provided that, when the 
king's justice came to a county, a number of men should 
be selected and required to give upon oath the number of 
crimes committed in that locality and the names of those 
suspected. The State, and not the aggrieved individual, 
thus came to be the prosecuting party, and the grand jury 
came into existence for the indictment of criminals. The 
sheriff of each county was required to raise the "hue and 
cry" against the offender and could demand the assistance 



The Treatment of the Criminal 483 

of all good citizens in securing the arrest of the supposed 
criminal. 

The justices sitting as a combined body, or the individual 
members upon the circuit, kept a record of the cases settled 
and the decisions rendered. These may be a body 
regarded as the formal legal expression of the ° ilaw - 
unwritten customs and moral ideas of the community. 
They were generally logical, consistent, conformable to 
custom, and came to be known as the "common law." 
This body of law was centuries in the making and to-day 
lies at the bottom of English jurisprudence and its Amer- 
ican offspring. In addition to the common law there is also 
statutory law. This is made up of numerous formal enact- 
ments passed, in England by Parliament, and in our own 
country by the national Congress and state legislatures. 

Although the federal courts punish offenders against 
national laws, the great volume of criminal cases, as well 
as civil, come before the state courts. Each 
state is divided into judicial districts, which cor- problems: 
respond more or less with county lines. The ^/|f^ 
state judiciary is organized into courts of com- 
mon pleas for civil cases, and courts of quarter sessions for 
the trial of criminals. Since every citizen has the right to 
be protected from arbitrary seizure, a warrant is generally 
required for his arrest, unless the offense has been com- 
mitted in the presence of the constable or policeman. 
The sheriff is the supreme county official charged with the 
duty of arrest, custody, or execution of the criminal. The 
coroner is the county official who investigates the • causes 
of deaths in an effort to prevent and punish crime. Cases 
may be brought before a magistrate in the city or a justice 
of the peace in the country. Trivial cases are within their 



484 Problems of American Democracy 

jurisdiction, and they may discharge the prisoner or assign 
a light penalty in the form of fine or imprisonment. If 
the offense is serious, the prisoner is sent to jail to await 
trial by the county court, or set free upon the payment of 
bail given in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. 
The accusation is then tested before the grand jury and a 
bill of indictment is filed, or the accused is released because 
of insufficiency of evidence against him. If not released, 
the prisoner is finally arraigned before the bar of justice 
when his case is called before the court. The charge is 
read and he may plead innocent or guilty. He may 
employ his own lawyer or, if unable to pay for such service, 
the state provides an attorney for him. The district attor- 
ney, or one of his assistants, represents the state by the 
prosecution of the criminal. Witnesses who testify are 
forced to appear in court by the serving of subpoenas. A 
jury of twelve then renders a verdict of guilty or not guilty, 
and the judge fixes the sentence. The jury decides upon 
the evidence in the case — true or false — and the judge upon 
its legal significance. 

The jury system is rightly regarded as one of the greatest 
results of English political development. The prisoner, 
Defects in who is given every opportunity for defending 
jury system, j^gg^ j s regarded as innocent until proved 
guilty. But like all social institutions, trial by jury has 
its defects. Under this system a large number of guilty 
escape; for it is agreed that it is better for nine guilty per- 
sons to escape than for one innocent man to suffer. A 
unanimous verdict of the twelve jurors is generally neces- 
sary for conviction and if any one of the numerous rules 
of procedure is broken, a new trial may be secured. In 
this country the work of the courts is notoriously slow, 



The Treatment of the Criminal 485 

whereas justice should be both swift and certain in order 
to be effective. In the third place, those serving upon 
juries are often relatively uneducated. Intelligent indi- 
viduals, who should perform this civic duty, often seek to 
escape such work in order to engage in their own more 
profitable occupations. Others plead conscientious objec- 
tions to serving. Again, the jury is apt to be swayed by 
the skill and eloquence of lawyers who gain their ends by 
sentimental use of the pathetic prisoner or the dramatic 
witness. Some writers upon jurisprudence would sub- 
stitute for the jury a bench of three judges. Many regard 
this, however, as too radical an innovation. 

Undoubtedly some changes should be made in legal pro- 
cedure. For example, the state should employ social 
experts in criminology, as well as those versed in suggested 
the law. These should be trained to distinguish re f° rms - 
between the different classes of criminals and to pass upon 
questions of insanity and abnormality. Their special 
training in psychology would also enable them to evaluate 
testimony. In the next place, a great discrepancy exists 
in the administration of the law. Not only do the legal 
codes of the different states vary greatly in penalties 
inflicted for the same crime, but within a given state there 
is a great variation in the severity of the decisions of the 
different judges. This situation is difficult to avoid because 
the human equation is ever present. The last objection 
to our criminal system, however, is most fundamental. 
We are still seeking to make the punishment fit the crime 
and not the criminal. Retribution is still largely the aim 
of punishment, and its character and amount are fixed 
according to the gravity of the crime. However, if refor- 
mation is the desired end, the punishment should be made 



486 Problems of American Democracy 

to fit the needs of the criminal rather than the nature of the 
crime. Such a policy would mean that different offenders 
would receive different sentences for the same offense. The 
single offender or occasional criminal might be treated with 
leniency because he is not likely to repeat his wrongdoing. 
The habitual criminal, however, might be sentenced for 
the same offense to the permanent custody of the peni- 
tentiary, and the instinctive criminal assigned to one of 
the institutions for defectives. It must be said, however, 
that judges do make distinctions between first offenders 
and hardened criminals. They are also sentencing a 
greater proportion of prisoners to specialized institutions 
where more individual treatment may be secured. 

Punishment of Crime. — The first point of view in 
regard to punishment for crime was that of revenge. This 
Point attitude was most conspicuous in the early days 

of view: f private warfare, when the aggrieved indi- 
vidual or his group vented his wrath upon the 
offender, whose entire family was often made to suffer. 
If the offender himself could not be captured, substitutes 
taken as hostages might suffer the fate intended for the 
original wrong-doer. "An eye for an eye and a tooth for 
a tooth" was the spirit of that age. 

Somewhat of the same spirit continued long after crime 
came to be looked upon as a social, rather than an indi- 
vidual offense, which the State itself undertook 

PvGVOltlO ) I 

to punish. In order to deter others from a 
similar course, an attempt was made at intimidation 
through torture and death by the most cruel means. Exe- 
cutions were public, and the heads of criminals and political 
victims were placed upon long poles and exhibited from 
the walls and towers of the town. 



The Treatment of the Criminal 487 

Curiously enough, the severity of the penalty has been 
found to have a less direct relation to the repetition of the 
crime than was at first supposed. Torture and n , 

Reformation. 

barbaric punishments have lowered the public 
morality and driven toward crime as many as have been 
deterred from it by fear of cruel penalties. The modern 
point of view toward the whole criminal problem is that of 
reformation or improvement both in the criminal himself 
and in his environment. Prevention of crime through the 
improvement of social environment is most fundamental. 
Regarding the individual criminal, the reformatory rather 
than the punitive attitude should be taken. Like the 
pauper, the criminal should be viewed as one who is socially 
diseased. In rendering sentence society, through its 
instrument the judge, should prescribe for him in the role 
of social physician. 

Formerly, many crimes were punishable by death admin- 
istered in various ways according to social sanction. Burn- 
ing was common for slaves and heretics, but with 
the advance of civilization, beheading became treatment: 
popular. In England the block, and in France F c °l™jZ 
the guillotine, took the place of the stake. 
Hanging has been a common fate for modern criminals, 
and only recently has it given way to the more humane 
method of electrocution. Until recent times torture was 
frequently practiced. The victim might be drawn and 
quartered, or broken upon the wheel, and in very ancient 
times crucifixion was common. The death penalty was 
not only cruel but frequent. In the first quarter of the 
sixteenth century, the public executioner at Nuremberg 
put to death one thousand one hundred and fifty-nine per- 
sons, and seventy thousand executions took place during 



488 Problems of American Democracy 

the reign of Henry VIII of England. As late as the last 
century, the death penalty was inflicted upon children 
and those guilty of minor offenses such as stealing. Brand- 
ing and flogging were also common. Unfortunates sen- 
tenced to sit in the pillory were pelted by jeering crowds, 
while the public hangings at Tyburn prison in London 
were regarded as holiday amusements. In revolutionary 
France, the women, while knitting, enjoyed the ghastly 
guillotine. 

The prisons of ancient times defy description. Prison- 
ers languished in filthy underground dungeons until death 
Prison put an end to their misery. Often they were 

reform. political offenders against whom no just legal 

charge could be brought. Such was the situation in the 
famous Bastille. To prevent this arbitrary imprisonment, 
the English parliament had passed a Habeas Corpus Act. 
Debtors, however, continued to suffer imprisonment until 
very recent times. Prison conditions were unspeakable. 
The sick and diseased spread their contagions, while often 
the two sexes mingled promiscuously. In some jails so 
little food was provided that many prisoners were forced 
to beg from their more fortunate brethren. The jailers 
were generally brutal characters who exacted fees on the 
slightest pretext. The warden of the Marshalsea, pictured 
in Dickens' story, had at one time an income of £3000 a 
year derived from such sources. Modern prison reform 
may be said to date from the time of the Italian, Beccaria, 
and the Englishman, John Howard. Beccaria was a stu- 
dent who published a book against torture and advocated 
a reform of the criminal law. John Howard (1 726-1 790) 
was one of the greatest reformers of all times. As sheriff 
of Bedford, he was placed in charge of the prison where a 



The Treatment of the Criminal 489 

century before John Bunyan had written his Pilgrim's 
Progress. By personal experience, he became acquainted 
with the jail conditions which he pictured before the House 
of Commons. A great traveler, he visited the prisons of 
many leading European countries and studied their 
wretched conditions. He called attention to their most 
glaring evils and inaugurated a movement for their reform. 
The greatest evil in our present prison system is the 
county jail. This is regarded by experts as a most efficient 
school for crime. Here prisoners are com- 

. The 

mitted thirty or ninety days for minor offenses, present 
In the jail are confined those guilty of mis- system: 
demeanors, while the more serious felons are The county 

7 j ail. 

sent to the penitentiary. Old and young mingle 
freely, and the vicious hardened criminal narrates his deeds 
to the young offender, who thus acquires criminal knowl- 
edge and bad habits. The tramp, the outcast, and the dis- 
orderly are kept here along with those who are merely 
awaiting trial. In most counties there is not sufficient 
need, or enough funds, .to warrant the building of larger 
and better jails. When such is the case, however, several 
counties should unite in the building of a district jail that 
can provide proper separation of prisoners, adequate 
discipline, regular industry, and effective reformatory 
measures. 

Difference in types of criminals makes the need of indi- 
vidualized treatment imperative. In other words, dis- 
tinctive institutions for different criminal classes A7 , , 

Need of 

are needed. The instinctive criminal, often special in- 
stitutions. 
feeble-minded or otherwise defective, cannot be 

reformed and is dangerous at large in society. This small 

group should be kept in permanent custody. The habitual 



490 Problems of American Democracy 

criminal is difficult of reformation and is apt to commit 
further crime. He should be placed in a state peniten- 
tiary, under an indeterminate sentence, and should be kept 
there until there is adequate proof that he is no longer a 
menace to society. The novice should be separated from 
the hardened criminal. In some cases, he may well be dealt 
with outside the prison walls by a system of probation. 
Young offenders need very careful treatment because they 
present the possibility of reform. Reform schools • are 
therefore needed for juvenile offenders. 

In order to avoid mass treatment and to individualize 
the prison system for the various groups of offenders, 
A plan Professor Ellwood suggests that each state 

suggested. should have at least the following separate types 
of institutions: (i) county and city jails, which should be 
used only for the temporary detention of prisoners await- 
ing trial. One evil of our present system, as we have 
seen, has been the use of the county jail or the city " lock- 
up" as the place of imprisonment for all the different 
groups of prisoners serving petty. sentences. (2) Reform 
schools for all children under sixteen years of age, or at 
least under the compulsory school age. (3) Reformatories 
for first offenders, particularly for the young. This group 
would thus be separated from habitual criminals, and in 
the treatment of this class industrial training should be 
emphasized. (4) State penitentiaries for all habitual 
criminals. (5) Special reformatories for vagrants, ine- 
briates, and like characters. (6) Hospital prisons for the 
criminally insane. Other defectives, wherever found, 
should receive specialized treatment. 

The responsible head of the prison is the warden or 
superintendent. In order to secure efficient administra- 



The Treatment of the Criminal 491 

tion this officer should be empowered to appoint subordi- 
nates, under a civil service system. There should be a 
competent medical staff in addition to the force Adminis- 
of clerks, guards, and housekeepers. Industrial tratwn - 
training is important because if the prisoner is later to 
become a useful member of society, he must have some 
means of livelihood when discharged from prison. Trade 
schools should be established for the young, while the older 
men are given employment in the shops or in work around 
the institution. In the past, prisoners have been forced to 
perform unprofitable occupations or those of little practical 
value in after life. In some penitentiaries, classes are con- 
ducted where illiterate convicts are taught to read and 
write. 

Formerly, prison discipline has been very severe and 
the "lock step" method in vogue. Warden McKenty, of 
the Eastern Penitentiary in Pennsylvania, has found that 
a more liberal spirit is not only advantageous to the man 
himself in the process of reformation, but that it is also a 
factor for good throughout the entire institution. The 
same spirit characterized the work of Superintendent 
Osborne at Sing Sing. Instead of brutal punishment, the 
deprivation of special privileges may be used with greater 
power for effective discipline. Under this system prisoners 
are graded, and each grade has greater privileges than the 
one below.. Marks and demerits may be given, so that 
the prisoner with a good record maybe able to advance to the 
highest grade. There may also be the possibility of short- 
ening the sentence by good behavior. In some hardened 
cases it may be found necessary to resort to a system of 
solitary confinement, combined with restricted diet, or 
even to corporal punishment. In earlier days, a con- 



492 Problems of American Democracy 

troversy existed between the advocates of what was known 
as the solitary or separate system of confinement and its 
opponents. These two plans were known as the Pennsyl- 
vania and Auburn systems respectively. The former 
method guards against corruption due to evil associations, 
but the lack of human contact may result in insanity or 
some lesser form of mental abnormality. 

It may be said of the administration of prisons, as 
well as of almshouses, that more complete records should 
be kept. There should be some central clearing house for 
the records of prisoners, many of whom have been found 
to be repeaters under assumed names. There is a system 
of measuring each individual criminal known as the Ber- 
tillon system. The lengths of the bones are recorded, for 
these do not grow after physical maturity is reached. Full- 
face and profile photographs of the prisoner are also taken for 
the "rogues' gallery." The print of the thumb is a further 
mark of identification because no two of these are alike. 

Prisoners were employed in earlier days at most severe 
labor. In the last century convicts, like Jean Valjean in 
Victor Hugo's story, were sent to the galleys. Convict 
labor upon the roads is still common and may be beneficial, 
if properly regulated and supervised. It was formerly 
common to lease a gang of convicts to some contractor, 
who was responsible for their care. They were often 
poorly treated, however; for profit, not reformation, was 
the aim of the contractor. The evil of this system became 
so apparent that the state was forced to keep control of its 
prisoners when they were turned over to an outside employer. 
Prisoners should be made to work because idleness is 
physically, mentally, and morally pernicious. The work, 
however, should have some educational value and enable 



The Treatment of the Criminal 493 

the convict to earn an honest living. In the past prisoners 
have been taught a trade only to find, when discharged, 
that it possessed little practical economic value. Organized 
labor has opposed convict labor as injurious to the wages of 
the free workman. Some states either prohibit or place 
restrictions upon the prison output. Under the law of 
1897 in Pennsylvania, not more than thirty-five per cent 
of the inmates of a penal institution may be employed in 
the production of goods for sale, nor may any power 
machinery be used. The "state use" system attempts to 
overcome this objection of the labor unions by producing 
articles needed in various state institutions. Farms are also 
being purchased by the state, because outdoor work is physi- 
cally most beneficial to the prisoner. Convicts are also at 
work upon roads and other public improvements. 

It is impossible to know in advance just how long it 
will be necessary to keep an individual a prisoner before 
he is sufficiently disciplined to be set at large. 
Hence many advocate the indeterminate sen- reforms: 
tence which does not state exactly the length of ^tfTentmce 
imprisonment. The convict must furnish evi- 
dence by his conduct, self-control, obedience, and habits of 
steady work that he is capable of making an honest living. 
Students of law fear that this system would be a temptation 
to prison officials to keep certain prisoners longer in jail 
than would be just to them. On the other hand, an 
individual convicted of some serious crime might be released 
too soon. The occasional criminal would profit, and the 
habitual criminal suffer, by its adoption. It is true that 
the indeterminate sentence places an enormous responsi- 
bility in the hands of the warden of the penitentiary. It also 
necessitates an entire change in our point of view toward 



494 Problems of American Democracy 

the criminal. Punishment must no longer be unalterably- 
fixed according to the nature of the crime, but must be 
adjusted to the nature of the man who commits the crime. 
The indeterminate sentence presents the objection that 
it is impossible for prison officials to predict how a man will 
use his newly obtained freedom. His conduct 

Parole. 

within prison walls may be sufficiently excel- 
lent to win the approval of the officials, but when restraint 
is removed he may again become morally deficient. Hence, 
some writers have argued that the prisoner should not be 
permanently discharged, but only conditionally freed under 
the system of parole. He is not to be released until 
employment has been found for him, and he must break 
loose from his former evil associations. He must return 
to the penitentiary occasionally, with a report from his 
employer and perhaps from another reputable citizen. 
At the end of his term of sentence, he is relieved of this 
supervision which has been a good preparation for absolute 
freedom. If, on the other hand, he violates his parole or 
again falls into evil ways, he is returned to jail. The 
parole system has many good features, but, like many other 
prison reforms, it is difficult of administration. Unregen- 
erate criminals have been known to forge reports and, 
meanwhile, resort to their old practices. The administra- 
tor should always hesitate about furnishing parole to the 
habitual criminal. 

Instead of being sentenced to the county jail for a mis- 
demeanor, the offender, unless a dangerous character, 

, . might be put upon probation by the judge. 

jorim- When work has been secured, he should be 

prisonment. 

regularly visited by the probation officer. For 
the first offender, the fear of imprisonment may be a great 



The Treatment of the Criminal 495 

deterrent. But on the other hand, if he were imprisoned, 
he might lose all hope of an honest future. In certain cases 
fines may be substituted for imprisonment, but some 
method should be devised whereby poor offenders may be 
able to discharge their indebtedness in installments and 
thus avoid jail. Fines, however, have little reformative 
value to the criminal and frequently work great hardship 
to his poverty-stricken family. Reparation to the injured 
party should be required as the condition necessary to sus- 
pending a sentence of hard labor. This is not only just to 
the injured party, but also of disciplinary value to the 
offender. Transportation of criminals has sometimes been 
used as a substitute for imprisonment, but the results have 
not always been beneficial. Australia was originally used 
as a penal colony, but the practice was finally stopped after 
numerous appeals from the colonists. For vagrants, 
feeble-minded, and certain other classes of delinquents, 
agricultural colonies under strict supervision have been 
advocated. Such colonies, however, must be kept isolated. 
The abolition of capital punishment has been urged 
by some writers, who question the right of society to take 
the life of an individual, while admitting its 
right to put the offender in permanent custody of capital 

. . punishment. 

in order to prevent a recurrence of similar out- 
rages. Others regard the death penalty for murder as 
just and plead the old argument of retribution expressed 
in the rule of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." 
Others, again, fear that the abolition of capital punishment 
would lead to a great increase in the number of serious 
crimes committed. We have seen, however, that the fear 
of cruel punishment does not always work as a deterrent 
to crime. At present, the death penalty prevents many 



496 Problems of American Democracy 

juries from condemning criminals whose guilt is practically 
assured. The abolition of capital punishment would thus 
result in a greater number of convictions for the more 
serious crimes. 

Juvenile courts were first established in our large cities. 

Certain states have since authorized all judges, in districts 

where there are no special juvenile courts, to 

Delinquent . .. , r , , ,. 

children: suspend ordinary rules 01 procedure in dealing 
"courts* 16 with criminals under eighteen years of age. The 
object aimed at in such cases is to prescribe 
reformatory treatment for those young persons who seem 
to be starting upon a criminal career. In conjunction with 
the court, there is a probation officer to investigate the case 
and to supervise the young delinquent. He is not sen- 
tenced to imprisonment, but is. allowed to return home 
upon probation. The court officer watches over his con- 
duct and environment. School attendance or, if beyond 
school age, the character of employment is especially 
important in these cases. Home conditions should be 
good and association with evil companions avoided. No 
publicity is given these juvenile offenders, who under such 
circumstances might be tempted to regard themselves as 
of some importance. 

Special institutions are needed for youths who have 
committed crimes serious enough to send an adult to the 
Reform penitentiary. A rural environment and the 

schools. occupation of agriculture are often found to be 

beneficial, while trade instruction is necessary for those 
who return to city life. The cottage system of administra- 
tion in such cases is much more effective than mass treat- 
ment in dormitories. Individualization and personal con- 
tact are essential in the education and reformation of 



The Treatment of the Criminal 497 

youthful offenders. The aim of all such treatment is the 
quickening of the moral sense and the development of self- 
reliance in the form of ability to acquire economic inde- 
pendence. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. How was crime originally punished? 

2. Describe the various kinds of trial used in the Middle Ages. 

3. What reform did Henry II introduce? 

4. Follow the trial of a criminal from his arrest to his conviction. 
Show the duties of the various judicial bodies and officers. 

5. Show the strength and weakness of our present criminal 
procedure. 

6. What reforms are advocated? 

7. How has the point of view toward the criminal changed? 
Discuss the three stages. 

8. Discuss early prison reform and reformers. 

9. Discuss the evils of the present county jail. 

10. Show the dangers of mass treatment. 

1 1 . What different types of institutions are needed in any adequate 
prison system? 

12. What improvements have been made in penal adminstration? 

13. What should be the aim of convict labor? 

14. Show the evils of the contract system. 

15. Give the arguments for and against the indeterminate sentence. 

16. Explain the parole system. 

17. What substitutes for imprisonment have been tried? 

18. Give the arguments for and against capital punishment. 

19. What is your opinion? 

20. How do the juvenile courts differ from the others? 

21. What are the functions of a probation officer? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Trial by ordeal and compurgation. 

2. The evolution of jury trial in England. 

3. The criminal code of a century ago. 

GG 



498 Problems of American Democracy 

4. The life and work of John Howard. 

5. Early prisons and their occupants. 
§. The model penitentiary. 

7. Trade unions and convict labor. 

8. The reform school and the boy criminal. 

9. The penal institutions of your own state. 

10. The influence of nineteenth century English literature upon 
criminal reform. 

REFERENCES 

Hayes, E. C. Introduction to the Study of Sociology. Chapter 

XXXIII. 
Henderson, C. R. Dependents, Defectives, and Delinquents. Part 

IV, Chapter III, IV, and VI. 
Henderson, C. R. Preventive Agencies and Methods. 
Lowrie, D. My Life Out of Prison. 
Mangold, G. B. Child Problems. Book IV. 
Reports of the National Conference on Charities and Correction. 
Reports of State Prison Associations. 
Taylor, W. L. The Man Behind the Bars. 
Travis, T. The Young Malefactor. 
Wines, F. H. Reformation and Punishment. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

Defectives in Society 

I. Physical defectives 
i. The blind: 

a. Extent 

b. Causes 

c. Treatment: 
(i) Method 

(2) Occupations 

2. The deaf: 

a. Extent 

b. Causes 

c. Treatment 

3. The crippled 

4. Effects of war 
II. Mental defectives 

1. The insane: 

a. Extent 

b. Causes 

c. Treatment 

2. Epileptics 

3. The feeble-minded: 

a. Definition and extent 

b. The three classes 

c. Its hereditary character 

d. The dangers 

e. Need of institutions 
III. Conclusion 

1. Social debtor classes 

2. The future 

499 



500 Problems of American Democracy 

Physical Defectives. — These divide themselves natu- 
rally into the blind, the deaf, and the crippled. It is difficult 
The blind: to estimate exactly the number of the blind in 
Extent. ^he United States because of the frequent classi- 

fication of the partially blind with the totally blind. The 
number of the latter has been estimated at fifty thousand. 
The proportion of males among the blind is higher than 
that of females because many men lose their vision through 
explosions and other industrial accidents. Almost half 
the blind are reported as being sixty years of age or over. 
It is therefore evident that blindness is associated with 
advancing age and with the decline of physical vigor. 
For the good of future generations it is imperatively 
necessary that eyesight be properly safe-guarded. Greater 
precautions must be taken in the school room, the home, 
the factory, and other places of employment. The cor- 
rection of errors of vision by the use of glasses may be 
preventive of future blindness and is becoming viewed as a 
matter of social as well as of individual concern. 

Blindness from infancy is not uncommon. A large pro- 
portion of this physical defect is due to a disease known as 
opthalmia, an infant blindness, which has been 
estimated to cause about one-tenth of all cases 
of blindness. It often occurs in cases where the parent is 
diseased, but it may be prevented in almost every instance 
by washing the eyes of the newly-born babe in a very 
weak solution of silver nitrate. This preventive measure 
is rarely practiced by the ignorant attendants at the births 
of many infants in our poorer and immigrant homes. 
Hence the plea for the presence of a physician at each 
birth, and the use of the maternity hospital for those too 
poor to pay for proper medical attendance. While con- 



Defectives in Society 501 

ditions of modern civilization are especially severe on the 
eyes, the advance of medical science may counteract the 
tendency toward defective vision. It is by reason of this 
fact that the proportion of blind of school age is not 
increasing, but actually decreasing, in comparison with the 
general increase of blindness in the total population. 

There are at present about fifty schools for the blind in 
the United States, with an approximate attendance of 
five thousand students. Schools for the blind Treatment 
were first established by private funds in Boston, °^ bhnd " 
New York, and Philadelphia; but various states are now 
making special provision at public expense for the educa- 
tion of this group of unfortunates. The course includes 
the usual elementary branches, with special instruction in 
reading and writing and industrial training. The first 
system of printing devised for the blind was by means of 
raised letters. The system of Louis Braille, devised first 
in 1829, does not, however, use the actual letters but 
employs dots. This method possesses many advantages 
over the earlier system. In a number of public schools in 
our larger cities special classes for the blind are main- 
tained. This arrangement does not necessitate their 
leaving home, permanently, to live in a distant institution. 
It is necessary that parents educate their bhnd children, 
for the census reported that nearly one-half of them were 
not in attendance at any school. It is surprising to learn 
how much can be done by scientific educational training 
to make blind children, who are still in the formative 
period, independent and self-reliant. Other faculties' can 
be trained to do a large part of the work ordinarily done 
by the eyes. When blindness occurs, the sense of touch 
becomes highly developed. But the treatment of the blind 



502 Problems of American Democracy 

is rendered difficult by the fact that a large proportion 
suffer from other defects as well. A study at the Pennsyl- 
vania Institution for the Blind revealed, for example, 
that forty-five per cent of the girls and thirty-six per cent 
of the boys had indications of curvature of the spine. 
In weight, height, and lung capacity they were also below 
the normal. Physical exercise, especially of a corrective 
nature, is imperatively needed. 

Industrial education must also be emphasized. Manual 
training is taught the blind, as well as handicrafts, like 
chair-caning, broom-making, and carpet-weaving. Employ- 
ment is necessary to keep the blind from dwelling upon their 
misfortune and from becoming morbid and melancholy. 
A second and equally important reason for occupation is 
the necessity for securing economic independence. The 
blind beggar upon the street is not only a pathetic figure, 
but often a cause of misdirected charity, injurious to 
himself as well as to the community. The number of 
blind engaged in gainful occupations is encouraging, and 
the state should deliberately foster the movement. Several 
states have established special workshops for the blind, 
where they can find certain types of work adapted to their 
abilities. Special employment agencies are on the lookout 
for positions which they can creditably fill. The adult 
who becomes blind in mature years, through accident or 
loss of physical vigor, is the most unfortunate of this 
entire group, for a complete readjustment is necessary in 
his case. New York City has adopted a system of giving 
pensions to the adult blind as a subsidy to those who are 
trying to become self-supporting. 

In addition to the blind, the deaf and the dumb constitute 
two other classes of physical defectives. Some unfortunates, 



Defectives in Society 503 

like the celebrated Helen Keller, possess all three defects. 
The inability to speak, however, has been found in a 
number of cases not to be due to any defect in The deaf: 
the brain or speech organs. Deaf mutes are ExtenL 
often unable to speak, or are forced to speak imperfectly, 
because of their inability to hear. Many have never 
learned to talk merely because of a lack of opportunity to 
hear themselves and others speak. About five per cent 
of the deaf are also feeble-minded and should be placed in 
institutions for the latter rather than for the former. 
There are apparently more deaf than blind in the United 
States. So many degrees of deafness exist, that it is even 
harder to estimate exactly the number of deaf than to 
approximate the number of the blind. In round numbers, 
the sum total approaches one hundred thousand and does 
not seem to be decreasing in proportion to the total popu- 
lation, as does the number of blind. Of the total number, 
about one-fourth are reported as being totally devoid of 
the power of speech. What proportion of these are really 
dumb and what proportion have simply never learned to 
speak because of their deafness cannot be ascertained. 

There are numerous causes of deafness, but the most 
common are, perhaps, accident and disease. Adults are 
often attacked by catarrhal colds and diseases causes of 
of the ear. In the young scarlet fever, menin- deaJness - 
gitis, and adenoids stand out conspicuously as causes of 
deafness. A third cause may be found in geographical 
environment. The mountainous country of Switzerland 
has a high de.af rate, while the low country of the Nether- 
lands has a lower one. This may, however, be due to other 
than geographical causes. Blindness is also higher in 
bright desert lands where the rays of the sun are intense. 



504 Problems of American Democracy 

The multitude of blind beggars in the Orient may, how- 
ever, also be due to the lack of medical knowledge and of 
scientific treatment. A fourth cause of deafness is hered- 
ity, although the exact part played by this factor is dif- 
ficult to ascertain. The marriage of deaf people, with 
whom deafness is inherent and not merely acquired, will 
often result in deaf children. About one-fifth of all the 
deaf are born deaf, and a large proportion of these come 
from totally or partially deaf parents. A fifth cause may 
lie in consanguineous marrage, that is, in marriage between 
near relatives. Thus the Jews, who permit the marriage 
of cousins, have an unusually high rate of deafness. It 
has been stated that four per cent of the deaf are the 
offspring of consanguineous marriages. Near relatives are 
apt to possess a somewhat similar heredity. If defective 
hearing should exist in both parents, this physical handicap 
will be intensified in the child who draws his heredity from 
both. There is little, however, to prove that consanguin- 
eous marriage is, in itself, a cause of deafness, provided the 
defect does not exist in parental heredity. 

The education of the deaf is highly important because, 
as we have seen, many present the possibility of being 
Treatment of taught to speak. When the speech organs or 
brain centers are defective, the sign language 
may be utilized as a method of communication. For those 
who are merely deaf and have the ability to speak, the 
reading of the lips of the speaker will enable the conver- 
sation to be followed. The ability to understand what is 
being said by watching the lips of the speaker is now being 
taught, and the facility of the deaf in this respect is some- 
times marvelous. It is naturally easier for the deaf to 
pursue higher education than for the blind, and for this 



Defectives in Society 505 

reason Columbia Institute at Washington offers them 
collegiate work. There is a special agency for collecting 
and diffusing knowledge concerning the deaf in America. 
It is known as the Volta Bureau and was endowed by Dr. 
Alexander Graham Bell with the money awarded him by 
the French Government for the invention of the telephone. 
Certain large cities have day classes for the deaf, in addi- 
tion to the state institutions. Like similar classes for the 
blind, they possess the advantage of allowing the children 
to live in their homes and to mingle with other normal 
children. Industrial training is important for their eco- 
nomic independence. The number of occupations open to 
the deaf is far in excess of those open to the blind, and as 
a result, most of the former may become entirely or par- 
tially self-supporting. 

Certain physical deformities exist from birth due at times 
to hereditary causes. A large number are cripples because 
of accidents. In the case of industrial acci- The 
dents, the crippled should be beneficiaries of cn PP led - 
some type of social insurance. Often they can become 
self-supporting. As with the two other groups of physical 
defectives, special preference should be shown them in 
filling positions within their capabilities. Railroads, for 
example, often give such positions as flagman to men 
crippled in their service. The aim should be to prevent 
the crippled from becoming beggars on the streets. Fre- 
quently they evade the law by becoming venders of small 
articles, which the "purchaser" seldom takes. Crippled 
peddlers should not be allowed to trade upon their mis- 
fortunes. This is as demoralizing to themselves as to the 
community. It may also lead to the feigning of injuries 
to excite the pity and generosity of the passer-by. Per- 



506 Problems of American Democracy 

sonal interest, not merely a financial contribution, will 
accomplish the best social results. The local charity agent 
will strive to find honorable positions for such unfortunates 
and will look after them until they become self-supporting. 
In cases of very serious injury, when they have no income 
or relatives capable of supporting them, the crippled should 
become inmates of a special home for incurables. 

The World War took an unprecedented toll of human 
life. Excluding the women, children, and aged, who per- 
Effects ished of famine and starvation in the devastated 

of war. regions, the total number of soldiers killed in the 

belligerent nations was not far from ten millions. The 
wounded in any army are usually in excess of the num- 
ber killed. Until the present generation passes away, 
therefore, Europe will have a great proportion of its male 
population made up of the crippled. Since American par- 
ticipation in the war was shorter, the number of killed and 
wounded was correspondingly less. To meet this situa- 
tion, instead of the former pension system, the federal 
government inaugurated an excellent system of social 
insurance. Cheap life insurance policies could be obtained 
by the men at enlistment. Special legislation provided 
compensation for those who were injured, as well as for 
the dependents of those who lost their lives. At the close 
of the war plans for the rehabilitation of the soldiers were 
considered. Modern medical science was called upon for 
the physical reconstruction of the sick and injured. The 
mental side was also emphasized. Duly qualified men were 
sent to technical schools and colleges. The government 
gave vocational training and taught illiterates to read and 
write. The aim was to make the injured men as nearly 
self-supporting as possible. Nothing in this entire pro- 



Defectives in Society 507 

gram was considered as charity, but merely as the best 
efforts of an enlightened modern democracy to do what 
it could for those who fought for its preservation. The 
same fine spirit which won the war stimulated the injured 
veterans in their quiet but heroic struggle for economic 
independence. 

Mental Defectives. — It has been estimated that there 
are about a half million mental defectives in the United 
States. Of these, about two hundred thousand Th 
fall within the various groups included under insane: 
the general term insane. The annual cost of 
the care of these insane has been estimated to equal the 
sum expended annually on the construction of the Panama 
Canal. This expenditure seems to be increasing in Europe 
as well as in America. The increase in both the amount 
and the cost of insanity must, however, be somewhat dis- 
counted because many cases of insanity, formerly concealed, 
are now being disclosed and cared for in public institutions. 
Again, since the lives of the insane are being preserved by 
modern medical science, there is a natural increase in the 
total number of insane patients. The cases show a slight 
excess of males over females, and a decided excess of adults 
over the young. 

Among the various interrelated causes of insanity, 
hereditary predisposition may first be mentioned. Although 
insanity may seem to run in families, its relation causes of 
to heredity is not so clearly established as is msamt y- 
that of feeble-mindedness. It would seem that insanity is 
more an acquired characteristic than an inherent one. 
A mental weakness or instability may be inherent in 
certain family stocks and, under pressure of circumstances, 
an individual of such ancestry is more apt to become 



508 Problems of American Democracy 

insane than one who has inherited a sounder and stronger 
mental constitution. We have said that tuberculosis was 
not hereditary, but that weak lungs were. Similarly, it is 
the neurotic taint or the predisposition toward mental 
disorder that may result in insanity, epilepsy, or some 
other mental disease. A second cause of insanity is 
immorality, which produces terrible diseases leading to 
insanity. Children of parents suffering from such diseases 
are more likely to be mental defectives than those of 
healthy parentage. Again, immorality and its resultant 
diseases may produce mental disorders in the individual 
himself. Softening of the brain and insanity often follow 
in later life as a result of physical excesses. Alcoholism is 
another important cause of insanity, which may appear 
either in the individual guilty of such excess or in his 
offspring. Again, fracture of the skull, bone pressure, 
blood clots, and lesions of the brain may result in insanity. 
Finally, bad mental habits may be the cause of an unbal- 
anced mind. Worry, shock, fright, overwork, severe 
mental strain and anxiety are frequent causes, of insanity, 
particularly when the mind is not naturally strong. 

In ancient times the insane were regarded as possessed 
by devils. Their incoherent statements were sometimes 
Treatment of considered prophetic utterances, and their wild 
the insane. ac tions ascribed to supernatural influences. 
In recent times, and upon American soil, mental defectives 
have occasionally been burned or hanged as witches. 
Lunatics have often been put in prison and in chains for 
safe keeping. Modern science, however, insists upon 
medical treatment for the insane in addition to detention. 
If such cases are treated as soon as signs of mental disorder 
manifest themselves, it is sometimes possible to effect a 



Defectives in Society 509 

cure. Insanity may take such diverse forms as melan- 
cholia, paranoia, or hysteria. The monomaniac is the 
individual whose mind is unbalanced in one direction, 
while the maniac is one whose mind does not function 
properly upon any subject. Many asylums group their 
patients according to ease of administration. The noisy 
patients, the filthy, and the orderly are the usual dis- 
tinctions. The insane of wealthy families may secure 
proper treatment in numerous private asylums, but 
insane paupers generally receive inadequate care. Many 
are kept in the almshouse in special cells and little attempt 
is made at curative treatment. Some insane are still 
confined in jails and prisons. A good working classifica- 
tion of insane patients is that of acute and chronic cases. 
For the chronic cases kindly custodial care is needed, but 
for the acute cases medical treatment may result in con- 
siderable improvement. Persons afflicted with a mental 
malady will often recover, if at all, within the first year. 
Hence the need of haste and the necessity for individual 
and personal attention. There is little definite knowledge 
of permanent, cures for these obscure mental maladies, but 
much has been accomplished by the use of massage, baths 
of various kinds, electricity, varied diet, and general 
mental and physical rehabilitation. 

Epileptics must be treated as a special class of mental 
defectives. Epilepsy itself is a little understood malady, 
the causes of which are very obscure. The 

,. ., . r , ,. Epileptics. 

ordinary manifestations of the disease are con- 
vulsions, of greater or less severity, at varying intervals. 
The lives of many otherwise intelligent and useful people 
are overshadowed by a dread of these terrible attacks. 
Many feeble-minded, however, are also epileptic, and 



510 Problems of American Democracy 

epilepsy is a common trait of criminals. About half the 
children of epileptic parents are epileptic, and nearly all 
the other half show serious defects of different kinds. 
It is therefore the duty of society to discourage the prop- 
agation of such people. Special provision should be 
made for their custody; for the public care of epileptics in 
America is most deficient. They are either left at large or 
are placed in almshouses and insane asylums, in neither of 
which institutions are they properly cared for. Special 
colonies should be founded for epileptics, who need a 
quiet outdoor life, a careful diet, and mental and physical 
occupation in agreeable surroundings. 

Feeble-mindedness must be distinguished from insanity. 

The insane suffer from a cessation of the normal working 

of the mind; the feeble-minded from an unde- 

The feeble- 
minded: veloped mentality. The brain of the insane 

Definition represents a broken or impaired mental machin- 

and extent. r sr 

ery, while that of the feeble-minded has been of 
low caliber from childhood. An adult whose intelligence 
has been normal may become insane in later life, but the 
feeble-minded are generally such from birth. They have 
inherited a low-grade mentality. Again, an insane per- 
son may have all his faculties, but they have ceased to 
work in unison. On the other hand, the feeble-minded 
individual has been born with some faculties lacking. 
The number of the feeble-minded is alarmingly great. 
Conservative estimates made in Great Britain and the 
United States fix a proportion of one feeble-minded to 
every three hundred of the population. The grades of 
mentality shade so gradually from the normal to the sub- 
normal, that it is difficult to estimate even approximately 
the number of feeble-minded. It is certain however that 



Defectives in Society 511 

there are more feeble-minded than insane persons. Dr. 
Goddard places the number in the United States at three 
or four hundred thousand. 

An attempt has been made to fix the standard of intelli- 
gence for each year of mental development in the life of 
the average child by the system of Binet tests. The three 
This provides a long series of questions for each dasses - 
year of childhood. Their character is practical, and the 
subjects are chosen from the child's every day experience. 
They become more difficult and require more thought for 
each advancing year. On the basis of satisfactory answers 
to the majority of the questions in each series, a child's 
mentality is classified as, for example, that of a normal 
eight year old or that of a ten year old. Since psychological 
or mental experiments are never so exact as those of physical 
science, the results of the Binet tests of mentality cannot 
be regarded as absolute. By such a general scheme, how- 
ever, the feeble-minded are classified according to their 
mental age, irrespective of their actual age. Of these, 
there are three groups — idiots, imbeciles, and "morons.'"'' 
A mentality equal to that of a normal child of two years 
belongs to the idiot class. These cannot care for them- 
selves, nor learn to speak, and many are physically 
deformed and misshapen. Since they are generally short- 
lived and cannot reproduce, this class is not self-perpetuat- 
ing. The group whose mentality may advance further, 
but is limited to that of a normal eight year old child, con- 
stitutes the imbecile class. Members of this group may 
live to maturity, but their mentality, actions, and conduct 
will be those of a young child. The "moron" represents 
the mental ability of normal children between eight and 
twelve years of age. This is the most dangerous group 



512 Problems of American Democracy 

because it so nearly approximates the normal. These 
''morons " mingle with the rest of the world unnoticed 
by the casual observer. The dangers arising from these 
child-adults in society will be discussed later. 

Although vice and alcoholism sometimes produce feeble- 
mindedness, the condition itself is generally due to hered- 
itary causes. While it is true that this taint 
hereditary may pass over certain individuals and even 

character. . 

generations, feeble-mindedness nevertheless runs 
in families. A law of heredity, known from its dis- 
coverer as Mendel's law, throws some light upon the pro- 
portion of feeble-minded offspring born of the union of a 
normal person with one who is feeble-minded. The mating 
of two feeble-minded persons, however, seems certain to 
produce feeble-minded offspring. It would thus appear 
that feeble-mindedness is not usually an acquired trait, 
but is generally inherent in the germ cell. The hereditary 
character of feeble-mindedness may be clearly shown by 
a study of various families like the Kallikaks, the Pineys, 
the Ishmaelites, and the Smoky Pilgrims. Here it is seen 
to persist in particular families and to be widespread in 
certain isolated localities, where these defectives have 
propagated their kind. From such studies it is evident 
that considerably over half the number of cases of feeble- 
mindedness are hereditary. It must be said, however, that 
some feeble-mindedness, like the "Mongolian" type, has 
appeared in families whose heredity fails to furnish any 
feeble-minded ancestry. 

A very small proportion of the feeble-minded are con- 
fined in institutions. The vast majority of these physical 
adults with childish minds are at large in society and a con- 
stant menace to its welfare. They react easily to sug- 



Defectives in Society 513 

gestion, for inhibition or restraint is a characteristic of the 
adult mind. The feeble-minded naturally find it difficult 
to compete with those of normal intelligence, The 
and a larger number are the recipients of dangers - 
charity or find their way into the poor-house. Possessing 
the physical strength of adults, they become, through their 
mental deficiency, a constant source of delinquency. 
Indeed, many are moral imbeciles incapable of distin- 
guishing right from wrong. Out of six hundred children 
appearing before a Chicago Juvenile Court, twenty-six per 
cent were feeble-minded. A large proportion of the 
inmates of reformatories and prisons also belong to this 
class. Dr. Goddard places the proportion of feeble- 
minded in our almshpuses at about one-half and gives the 
same ratio for the criminal class. Again, it has been esti- 
mated that from twenty-five to fifty per cent of the immo- 
rality among women is due to f eeble-mindedness. The cost 
to the state in crime and pauperism of the feeble-minded 
would justify the expenditure of a large sum of money for 
their custodial care. If they are permitted at large, they 
will continue to reproduce their kind and to lower the aver- 
age level of intelligence throughout society. This is the 
great danger of the moron group, who closely approximate 
the physical normal, but who transmit the hereditary taint 
of feeble-mindedness to their offspring. 

If society ever expects to reduce the number of these 
defectives, the need of custodial care for the feeble-minded 
is imperative. They must be segregated and Need of 
prevented from mating. This course is best msMutwns - 
suited to their own real happiness because they delight in 
the amusements and toys of childhood. They take pleas- 
ure in playing with other children of the same mental age. 

HH 



514 Problems of American Democracy 

In this manner, they would no longer be exploited or 
tempted by those of mature intelligence. Little hope, 
however, can be held out for their ultimate advancement. 
Feeble-mindedness is apparently incurable. Nothing can 
be done for idiots except to satisfy their physical wants. 
The imbecile group do not need so much attention and may 
be taught to care for themselves. The "morons," how- 
ever, are capable of receiving an education equivalent to 
that of children of corresponding mental age. Manual 
training may teach them to use their hands productively. 
Few states have met the problem of the feeble-minded by 
providing for their permanent custodial care in special 
institutions. Indeed, there are not nearly enough such 
institutions to care for this defective group. The institu- 
tion for the feeble-minded at Vineland, New Jersey, is 
deserving of special mention, for here Dr. Goddard has 
carried on his valuable investigations. 

Conclusion. — The last five chapters have dealt with 
social groups which present peculiar difficulties in a demo- 
cratic society. They are all sub-normal. All 

debtor act as a hindrance to social progress and con- 

classes. . t 1 1 r 

stitute a large part of the general problem of 

social adjustment. They are conveniently designated the 
social debtor classes and comprise the dependents, the 
delinquents, and the defectives. The causes of their 
deficiency have been seen to lie both in social environment 
and in individual heredity. In order to eliminate malad- 
justments, the environment — both economic and social — 
must be transformed to meet the needs of the individual. 
Adverse environing conditions must be so changed that 
individual abnormality may be removed wherever possible. 
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is as 



Defectives in Society 515 

true of social ills as of bodily ailments. Poverty and 
crime must be prevented rather than cured, and conditions 
giving rise to defectives must be as largely as possible 
eliminated. 

In considering the future of these unfortunates, individual 
heredity must be considered as well as social environment. 
Democracy has already begun the work of adjust- xhe 
ment. Charity is being organized, almshouses future * 
improved, and prison systems reformed. But what is being 
done to improve the race biologically? The solution of 
many social problems depends not only upon the progress 
of ideas, the psychological factor, but also upon the physi- 
cal improvement of man, the biological factor. From this 
point of view, a sound physical heredity is as important to 
the success of democracy as a good social environment. 
Eugenics may be defined as the science of the biological 
improvement of the race. Because man in the past has 
grown up haphazardly, is there no reason for supposing 
that conscious measures may not be taken for his deliberate 
biological improvement? To be sure, extremists have 
brought this idea into disrepute by their radical suggestions. 
But all students of society agree that a rational application 
of eugenic principles will not only result in race improve- 
ment, but that such application is imperatively needed for 
certain classes in American society. For example, it is 
undoubtedly the duty of society to prevent the propagation 
of inherently degenerate biological stocks, like the feeble- 
minded, whose deficiency is hereditary. As society 
advances, it is hoped that its eugenic standards will be 
raised. 



516 Problems of American Democracy 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

i. Give an estimate of the extent of blindness in the United 
states. Is it increasing? 

2. Describe any school for the blind that you have seen. Name 
any in your community. 

3. What lines of training are especially needed for the blind? 

4. Give the extent and causes of deafness in American society. 

5. Explain the role of heredity in producing deafness. 

6. Why is the inability to speak so common in the deaf? 

7. What should be society's attitude toward, and treatment of, 
its crippled members? 

8. What should you, as an individual, do for the crippled beggar 
on the street? 

9. Discuss the extent of insanity in the United States. 

10. Discuss the causes of insanity. 

11. Is insanity hereditary? Explain fully. 

12. How were the insane regarded and treated in former times? 

13. What progress has been made in caring for them? 

14. What improvements are needed to-day? 

15. What should society do for the group of epileptics? 

16. Contrast feeble-mindedness with insanity. 

17. Discuss the extent of feeble-mindedness in the United States. 

18. Describe the three groups of the feeble-minded. 

19. Show the hereditary character of feeble-mindedness. 

20. What are the dangers arising from the feeble-minded when at 
large in society? 

21. Can feeble-mindedness be cured? Why or why not? 

22. To what extent may the feeble-minded be taught? 

23. What is the duty of society regarding the feeble-minded? 

24. What are the three groups of social debtors? 

25. What should be the attitude of society toward the individual 
social debtor? 

26. What should be the keynote of social reform in this direction? 

27. From what different points of view may the problem be 
attacked? Explain each. 



Defectives in Society 517 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Opthalmia or infant blindness. 

2. Industrial training for the blind. 

3. Teaching the deaf and dumb to speak. 

4. Civilization and insanity. 

5. Education of the feeble-minded. 

6. The provision made by the laws of your state for the care of 
defectives. 

7. The work of some local institution for any group of defectives. 

8. The program of the United States for the rehabilitation of 
crippled soldiers. 

9. The future of society from the standpoint of eugenics. 

10. The relative importance of the ever-present factors of heredity 
and environment in race improvement. 

1 1 . The treatment of defectives in Sparta. 

REFERENCES 

Best, H. The Blind; The Deaf. 
Davenport, C. B. Heredity in Relation to Eugenics. 
Goddard, H. H. Feeble-Mindedness. 
Goddard, Ff. H. The Kallikak Family. 

Henderson, C. R. Dependents, Defectives and Delinquents. Part III. 
Smith, S. G. Social Pathology. 

United States Census Reports on the Blind, the Deaf, the Insane 
and Feeble-Minded. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

The Problem of the Modern Family 

I. The family as a social institution 
i . Its importance 
2. Functions: 

a. Primary 

b. Secondary 
II. Marriage relations 

i . Early peoples 

2. The Romans 

3. Marriage a sacrament 

4. Marriage a civil contract 

III. Divorce in the United States 

1. Marriage laws in the United States 

2. The rapid increase of divorce 

3. Comparison with Europe 

4. Distribution of divorce: 

a. Geographical 

b. Urban influence 

c. Race 

d. Nativity 

e. Religious belief 
/. Other facts 

5. Legal grounds for divorce 

IV. Causes of the increase of divorce 
1. Economic changes: 

a. Modern industrialism 

b. Economic emancipation of women 

c. Higher standards of living 

d. City life 

518 



The Problem of the Modem Family 519 

2. Social progress: 

a. Rise of individualism 

b. The Woman's Movement 

c. Popularization of education and law 

d. Moral and religious changes 
V. The outlook 

1. National Congress on Uniform Divorce Laws 

2. Work of religious bodies 

3. Remedies: 

a. Legal 

b. Educational 

4. A problem of adjustment 

So far in our treatment of problems of American Democ- 
racy, we have discussed questions of general importance 
to government, industry, and society. We have not yet 
examined, however, certain specific problems which relate 
directly to the three remaining social institutions — the 
family, the school, and the Church. The family is rightly 
regarded as the most fundamental institution of society; 
and yet, even this institution is, to-day, undergoing 
important changes. In fact, not only the family, but the 
school, as expressed in public education, and the Church, 
as evidenced by social morality, are affected by the process 
of democratic readjustment that is taking place throughout 
the progressive, civilized world. Accordingly, in the 
remaining chapters, we shall discuss, first, the instability of 
modern family life; secondly, the trend of public education 
in a democracy; and, thirdly, the present tendencies in 
moral progress. 

The Family as a Social Institution. — The primary 
and most important social institution is the family. 
Indeed, the family may be regarded as a miniature society. 



520 Problems of American Democracy 

Since it contains both sexes, it is capable of reproducing 
itself; and, since it includes all ages, it contains the 
Itsim- various social relationships illustrated by the 

portance. authority of the father and the obedience of the 
children. We may call it the primary form of association 
from which developed later institutions. Thus the first 
industrial society was the family. In savage society, the 
father goes upon the hunt, while the mother builds the hut 
and prepares the food and makes the clothing. The family 
of the frontiersman of our own day is a practically indepen- 
dent economic unit, providing for itself most of the necessary 
articles and utensils, as well as food and clothing. Again, 
religious life has centered and still should center in the 
family. The patriarchal father was the first high priest, 
and the hearth-fire the seat of the earliest religious devo- 
tions. The child's earliest education is obtained at his 
mother's knee, and the institution of the school continues 
the work already begun by the family. Finally, govern- 
ment and the institution of the State had their roots in the 
institution of the family. The patriarch Abraham was a 
tribal chief, and the Roman pater familias who ruled his 
family was responsible to the State for the conduct of the 
members of his household. 

The primary function of the family is the biological one 
of reproduction, the perpetuation of the human species. 
Itsfunc- ^ e industrial function of the family has, for 
tions: the most part, been lost; for production to-day 

has gone from the home into the huge factory. 
Again, the school and the various church organizations 
have become modern substitutes for the educational and 
religious life of the family. But no social changes can 
undermine its primary biological function — the birth of 



The Problem of the Modem Family 521 

offspring. The family is the social institution which pro- 
duces new individuals for society and cares for them until 
maturity. Thus, the primary function of the family is to 
transmit physical life from generation to generation. This 
function is as permanent as the human race itself. 

There is also a secondary function of the family, namely, 
the transmission of social possessions from generation to 
generation. These may be material possessions, secondary 
such as property and wealth, or the spiritual f unctwn - 
possessions of the race, such as the mother tongue and 
ideals of government and religion. The transmission of 
these possessions we sometimes call the process of socializa- 
tion. This secondary function of the family is to fit the 
individual for the larger life of society. It is to prepare 
for citizenship in the broadest sense of the word. This 
duty is at present in grave danger of being neglected, 
unless the Church and the school come to the rescue of the 
family. For example, the school must not only enlarge 
its curriculum to include work in the social sciences, but it 
must also introduce courses in domestic science and in 
vocational training, in order to give that preparation for 
later life which was formerly given in the home. The 
Sunday School has come into being to give moral and 
religious training to many boys and girls who would never 
receive such instruction at home. 

Marriage Relations. — Not only are the beginnings of 
the present monogamic family found among the most 
primitive peoples, but its rudimentary germs Early 
may even be traced back to the simple pairing P e °P les - 
system of the higher animals. Thus, the present form of 
the family rests upon thousands of years of evolution, and 
its ultimate stability will not be endangered by one short 



522 Problems of American Democracy 

period of transitional development. Nevertheless, even 
among primitive peoples, we find numerous deviations 
from the permanent monogamic form of marriage. Here 
the duration of the marriage relation varies from a very- 
transitory state, among a few groups, to life-long union 
among others. Indeed, the character and permanency of 
family life is one indication of the degree of civilization 
attained by a particular society. Sometimes the relation 
is so temporary as scarcely to deserve the name of marriage. 
With the development of group life, loose marriage rela- 
tionships become more definite and some sort of ritual or 
symbolic ceremony grows up to celebrate the union. 
Divorce, in the sense of breaking up this marriage relation- 
ship, is very old. Among early peoples the right to a 
dissolution of the bond was generally given to the man, 
not to the woman. But among all civilized peoples, from 
the earliest times, the ideal marriage has been that of 
life-long union. The ancient law code of Hammurabi, 
ruler of the earlier Babylonian kingdom, mentions causes 
of divorce and regulations for the disposal of the property, 
or for transfer of the dowry, of divorced parties. In 
ancient Jewish society, where the patriarchal system pre- 
vailed, family life was stable and authoritative. But even 
here the right of the husband to put away his wife was 
conceded in the Mosaic code. 

The family of the early Romans was not only patriarchal, 
but also characterized by ancestor worship. The marriage 
The ceremony was of a religious nature in which the 

Romans. bride's father freed her from the worship of her 
own household gods, whereupon she accepted the ancestor 
worship of her husband's family. Divorce and polygyny 
were practically unknown among the early Romans, whose 



The Problem of the Modern Family 523 

family life was pure and stable. Adoption was frequently 
resorted to by the Roman family when the line of descent 
was jeopardized by the lack of natural offspring. With the 
decay of ancestor worship, the patriarchal family declined. 
The decadence of family life was also hastened by the 
growth of a skeptical philosophy, and by the numerous 
political and social changes of the later Republic. In the 
days of the Empire, marriage came to be regarded as a 
private contract, and the old idea of the religious nature of 
marriage, prevalent in the early Republic, gradually dis- 
appeared. The great law system of Rome also began to 
grow in complexity and to include the legal rights of women 
and children. Divorce, which was formerly almost 
unknown, became more and more frequent. The right of 
divorce was opened to wives, as well as to husbands. 
Among certain classes in the decadent period of Roman 
history, divorce was so common and so easy to obtain that 
a stable family life ceased to exist. Vice was rampant 
and played a sinister part in the downfall of the Empire. 
Rome at this time is the classical illustration of the appar- 
ently direct relationship between unstable family life and 
national disintegration. 

The Christian ideal of the Middle Ages was ascetic. 
The early church fathers regarded both woman and the 
institution of marriage as obstacles in the path Marriage a 
of saintly living. Celibacy was the rule for the sacrament - 
clergy. Whereas the early Church had exercised but little 
jurisdiction over marriage, the ceremony later became 
religious and was performed by the priest in the parish 
church. Marriage was finally enumerated as one of the 
sacraments of the Church, and the whole subject placed 
under ecclesiastical jurisdiction. This point of view, 



524 Problems of American Democracy 

known as the sacramental theory, regards marriage as 
indissoluble. The wide jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical 
courts of the Middle Ages included not only religious 
matters, but also all questions regarding marriage. The 
church courts not only possessed the power to try heretics, 
but also the authority to pass upon the validity of marriages. 
A marriage might therefore be annulled because of some 
fault impairing its validity, but divorce itself was not 
granted. The Roman Catholic church to-day still regards 
marriage as a sacrament and refuses to recognize any 
right of divorce. 

The Protestant Reformation, weakening the authority 
of the Church, served to strengthen the authority of the 
„ . State. This resulted finally in the civil author- 

Marnage ... 

a civil ities taking over many powers formerly exer- 

contract. . . 

cised by the Church. The Renaissance had 
attacked the ascetic ideals of the medieval Church, and the 
Protestant Reformation permitted the marriage of its 
clergy. The trend of modern times has been consistently 
toward a separation of Church and State, and this move- 
ment has reflected itself in a changing attitude toward 
marriage. A civil marriage act was passed by the England 
of Cromwell. On the continent, this development was 
largely a result of the French Revolution and the nine- 
teenth century witnessed the triumph of the idea through- 
out Europe. Although the laws regarding divorce had long 
remained practically undisturbed, the principle involved 
in the new theory began to produce its results later. Eccle- 
siastical courts, like those of the feudal nobles, had long 
lost all power, for their jurisdiction had been usurped by 
the state courts. When divorce was finally recognized, 
the civil courts were the only proper legal agencies to grant 



The Problem of the Modem Family 525 

the right. In the marriage ceremony of to-day the 
religious, as well as the civil, idea persists. An entirely 
civil marriage, however, is possible, and the ceremony may 
even be performed by a magistrate or by a justice of the 
peace. It is usually necessary to procure a license from the 
state authorities, before any ceremony can be performed 
by a clergyman. Some European countries require a civil 
marriage, but it may be followed, if desired, by the religious 
ceremony. 

Divorce in the United States. — In the United States, 
the whole question of marriage and divorce lies within the 
jurisdiction of the several states. The federal 
government has no authority in the matter, laws^n 86 
Hence, great discrepancies exist within the sev- states! 
eral states in both marriage and divorce laws. 
For example, there is no uniformity regarding the legal age 
of marriage, nor the grounds for divorce, nor agreement 
concerning the degree of relationship within which mar- 
riage is forbidden. Certain states forbid the intermarriage 
of whites with negroes, others of whites with Indians, and 
still others of whites with Chinese. Again, some states 
are lax in the enforcement of marriage laws and in requiring 
the registration of all marriages. This registration is either 
not done at all, or so poorly done in some sections as to 
be of no real value. In general, we may say that the mar- 
riage laws of the United States are entirely too lax, and 
that hasty marriages often result in divorce. Not only 
should the applicant for a marriage license be required to 
live a given time in the district, but it has also been pro- 
posed that a certain time should elapse between the issuance 
of the license and the performance of the marriage cere- 
mony. Laws have been recently passed in some states 



526 Problems of American Democracy 

prohibiting the marriage of certain degenerate classes, like 
the feeble-minded, and those possessing hereditary defects. 
Other eugenic measures have also been proposed to improve 
the physical stock of the race. Some of these are excellent, 
but others are too radical in the physical tests required for 
the marriage certificate. 

In 1887 the Commissioner of Labor was authorized by 

Congress to collect and report the statistics of marriage 

and divorce throughout the country. This 

increase of report covered the twenty years from 1867 to 

divorce. nn _ _, , _, .. 

1887. In South Carolina no marriages were 
recorded, and in many other districts the registration was far 
from complete. Divorce statistics for this period, unlike 
those for marriage, were fairly complete and sufficiently 
accurate for purposes of scientific study. In 1905, the 
Director of the Census was authorized to make a similar 
investigation for the next twenty years, namely from 1887 
to 1906, inclusive. This was published several years later 
and made possible a study of the divorce movement in the 
United States over a continuous period of forty years. It 
was found from this census study that, in the decade 
between 1867 and 1876, one hundred and twenty-two 
thousand divorces were granted; between 1877 and 1886, 
two hundred and six thousand; between 1887 and 1896, 
three hundred and fifty- two thousand; and between 1897 
and 1906, five hundred and ninety-three thousand. This 
study also showed that, in the last twenty years inves- 
tigated, almost a million divorces had been granted in the 
United States. This increase of divorce should be com- 
pared with the increase of population, and with the increase 
of marriage. Whereas the population in 1905 was little 
more than double that of 1870, divorces were six times as 



The Problem of the Modem Family 527 

numerous. Thus we may say that the increase of divorce 
was three times as rapid as the increase of population. 
Again, whereas the married population a little more than 
doubled between 1870 and 1900, the number of divorces 
increased five-fold. A projection of the same rate to the 
end of the present century would mean that half of the 
marriages then contracted would end in divorce. Such a 
situation would not be unlike that prevailing in the days 
of the declining Roman Empire. 

The United States has the unenviable reputation of 
leading the civilized world in divorce. Professor Ellwood 
in his study of the divorce problem gives the _ 

J . Comparison 

following figures for 1905, which show that the with 
United States has more than double the com- 
bined amount of divorce in the foreign nations investigated : 

United States 67,976 Great Britain and 

Germany 1 1,147 Ireland 821 

France 10,860 Australia 339 

Austria-Hungary . . 5,785 Canada 33 

Although the increase in the number of divorces is not a 
national but an international phenomenon, characteristic 
of modern civilization, our own country is the most con- 
spicuous example of this evil. In 1905 we had about one 
divorce to every twelve marriages, while in France the 
ratio was one to thirty; in Germany one to forty-four; and 
in England one to four hundred. In a few of the states 
the ratio ranged from one to eight, one to seven, one to 
six; and, in Oregon, Washington, and Montana, there was 
one divorce to every five marriages. The Report on Mar- 
riage and Divorce by the United States Census Bureau 
already mentioned shows that our divorce rate is higher 



528 Problems of American Democracy 

than that of any other western nation. It is about three 
times that of France, four times that of Germany, and 
thirty times that of Great Britain. The infrequency of 
divorce, however, does not necessarily indicate, as will be 
shown later, a better or higher family life in those states 
or nations possessing a lower divorce rate. Customs, laws, 
or religious beliefs may keep the family intact even when 
family life is disintegrating. Where divorce is difficult or 
impossible to obtain, there may be many disrupted families 
who cannot register their disruption in the divorce sta- 
tistics of the courts. 

We have already seen that a great difference exists 
between the divorce laws, and consequently the divorce 
D . ., rates, of the different states. In general, the 

tion: divorce rate is greater in the northern and west- 

jeograp ica . ^^ s t a tes than in those to the South and East. 
Divorce has been compared to a great cloud lowering from 
the Northwest. There are three great geographical cen- 
ters of divorce: (1) New England; (2) the states of the 
Central West; and (3) the Rocky Mountain and Pacific 
Coast states. The Middle Atlantic and southern groups 
of states show the lowest proportion of divorce. Recently, 
however, the divorce rate has shown a rapid increase in a 
few southern centers, and also in the city of Philadelphia. 
A recent Census Report showed that the divorce rate in 
the North Central states was two and one-half times that 
of the North Atlantic states, while the divorce rate of the 
western division was four times as great. 

In Europe, divorce was regarded as a phenomenon of 
city life because the rate was so much higher in the urban 
than in the rural districts. The census investigation, 
however, found that this difference was not so strikingly 



The Problem of the Modern Family 529 

significant in the United States. But, although variations 
exist, it is nevertheless true that in our own urban 
country the divorce rate is higher in the urban m $ uence - 
than in the rural districts. 

Court records in the South often do not give information 
concerning the color of the litigants. Consequently, it is 
impossible to establish any definite fact in regard 

. Race. 

to the comparative proportion of divorces 
between the two races. Again, many of the negroes live 
so near the poverty line that legal divorce through the 
courts is too expensive. Simple desertion, often by mutual 
consent and without the process of law, is comparatively 
more common. 

The r61e of the immigrant in the divorce problem is not 
so uncertain. The divorce rate is much higher among the 
native born than among the foreign element in „ . . 

°. . ° Nativity. 

our population. Many immigrants come from 
lands where both tradition and religion are so strong that 
these forces persist in the new country and operate against 
the divorce evil. 

Because of the uncompromising attitude of the Roman 
Catholic Church against this evil, divorce is much more 
common in Protestant than in Catholic com- Religious 
munities. In Switzerland, for example, the et ® m 
divorce rate is higher in the Protestant than in the Roman 
Catholic cantons. Some observers claim that the divorce 
rate is highest among those of no religious profession. 

The divorce rate is about four times as high among child- 
less couples as among those having children. Of the mil- 
lion divorces granted between 1887 and 1006, 

. ., . . . , . Other facts. 

no children were reported in about sixty per 

cent of the families affected. Thus, children would seem 



530 Problems of American Democracy 

to be an important factor in about two cases out of five. 
Regarding the party to whom the divorce is granted, we 
find that twice as many women receive divorces as men. 
Thus, about two-thirds of all divorces are granted upon 
the plea of the wife, and about one-third upon the plea of 
the husband. Regarding the duration of married life, 
the census report showed that, in one-quarter of all the 
marriages terminated by divorce, the separation took 
place within two years, and, in one-half of the cases, within 
five years, after marriage. 

The legal grounds for divorce vary as much among the 
different states as do the actual rates of divorce. South 
_ Carolina refuses to grant divorce. New York 

grounds for recognizes but one cause, infidelity, while in 

divorce. 

other states there are many legal grounds upon 
which divorce may be granted. The three leading causes 
are desertion, cruelty, and adultery. Often the legal 
grounds upon which divorce is granted reveal little infor- 
mation as to the real cause of the disrupted family life. 
To the student of American democracy, the causes under- 
lying the broken family life are of more importance than 
the actual divorce, which merely legalizes the disruption 
already accomplished. Furthermore, desertion, for which 
reason two-fifths of all divorces are granted, is a " blanket" 
term. It is used in many cases as the legal ground for 
granting the divorce, but the real cause of the disrupted 
family is not revealed. Although there is but one legal 
ground for divorce in New York, many divorces are granted 
under that name, but for other causes. Variation between 
the states in the strictness of divorce laws often results in 
a certain amount of migration from state to state for 
divorce seekers. Hence, a change in our constitutional 



The Problem of the Modern Family 531 

system, whereby a uniform federal divorce law may be 
enacted, is earnestly advocated by many students of the 
divorce problem. 

Causes of the Increase of Divorce. — The rise of the 
factory system marked the passing of the economic function 
of the family. Production went from the home 
to the factory. In earlier days the father Economic 
farmed, the wife spun, and within the family C M ^n & in- 
circle were produced most of the necessities of dustrialism. 
life. To-day, even articles of food, like bread 
and soup, are more often prepared in the factory than in 
the home. Although division of labor and the use of 
machinery have made goods cheaper and more plentiful, 
these forces have broken up the economic interdependence 
of family life. Great industrial centers have developed 
where not only fathers, but also mothers and children, find 
employment. The factory system has lessened the work 
to be done at home, but has offered to women and child- 
ren employment in the factory. Different members of the 
family become employed in different places and occupa- 
tions. Interests vary and the home sometimes becomes 
merely a place in which to eat and sleep. Such a situation 
often results in the production of unsocialized children, 
because high ideals of family life are lacking. Again, the 
neglect of practical training in the duties of motherhood 
may bear fruit in the unhappy homes of a future generation. 
That the school is taking over some of the old home duties 
may be seen by the new vocational courses and the courses 
in domestic science. Mothers, employed long hours in fac- 
tories, have little time to teach, or to illustrate by example, 
the art of happy home-making to daughters often similarly 
employed. In some cases, nervous or physical exhaustion 



53 2 



Problems of American Democracy 



makes them unfit for their own duties of wife and mother. 
The severe struggle for existence may also take the charm 
from married life. An equally grave situation is met in the 
homes of another class, where the opposite situation prevails. 
Modern industrialism has lessened the amount of work to 
be done in the home, particularly in the cities. Therefore, 
women of the wealthy class often live at idle ease. It is 




How Industry Breaks Up the Home — Women in the Cotton Mill 



this group of "idle rich," where the birth rate is low, that 
furnishes so many divorce scandals. Leisure time, 
unprofitably or unwholesomely employed, saps the moral 
fiber far more than a hard-pressed or overworked existence. 
In conclusion, we may say that the Industrial Revolution 
has broken the economic unity of the family and placed 
the industrial work of woman outside the home. It has 



The Problem of the Modern Family 



533 



brought an increasing amount of wealth unevenly dis- 
tributed. Unfortunately, not only leisure time and the 
size of the family seem inversely proportional, but social 
classes at opposite extremes often present, for far different 
reasons, a like problem of disrupted family life. 




Making Garments in a New York Factory — Instead of in the Home 



The entrance of woman into industry has been marked 
by various economic as well as social consequences. While 
the movement will undoubtedly be ultimately „ 

J J Economic 

advantageous to society, it nevertheless pro- emancipation 

. . . . . , of woman. 

duces in the period of transition certain unde- 
sirable social consequences. Until very recent times, 
woman, rightly or wrongly, has always been regarded as 
economically dependent upon man. This view has 



534 Problems of American Democracy 

obtained in spite of the fact that woman has always per- 
formed a large part of the industrial labor of society. Her 
work, however, has been less noticeable than that of man, 
because it has been confined to the home. Matrimony, 
therefore, was regarded as a means of support for women. 
But now the employments opened to woman have so 
widened that matrimony is no longer regarded as a neces- 
sary means of support. Divorce offers a way out of an 
unhappy married life, while industry furnishes the means 
of support. Woman is now in industry as an independent 
competitor, receiving definite wages for services rendered. 
This growing economic independence of woman may be 
read in the laws establishing the property rights of married 
women. Not only divorce but late marriages, as well as 
spinsterhood, are frequent manifestations of the economic 
emancipation of woman. 

With the advance of industrial civilization has come a 

rise in standards of living which, of course, has been 

accompanied by an increase in the cost of living. 

standards Wants and desires have increased faster than 

of living. , 

incomes. The luxuries of yesterday have become 
the necessities of to-day. Higher standards of living are 
socially desirable, but when they exceed wholesome limits, 
the results are often disastrous. Each group desires to 
imitate the standards set by the next higher economic 
class. This is the cause of much domestic unhappiness, 
which reflects itself in increasing divorce. Luxurious 
living and the increased cost of living are thus partly 
responsible for the later age of marriage and for the 
accompanying increase of divorce. Professional men of 
to-day are often financially unable to undertake the 
responsibilities of married life until they attain the larger 



The Problem of the Modern Family 535 

income that comes with later years. But, at this later age, 
the habits of the individual are relatively more fixed and 
harder to change. Thus, the adjustment necessitated by 
marriage is more difficult in later than in earlier life. On 
the other hand, it may be said that mature years bring 
judgment and discretion, while early marriages, rashly 
contracted by impetuous youth, often result in marital 
disasters. It is true, however, that a rising divorce rate 
in this country has accompanied the advancing age of 
marriage, although the latter may not be the direct cause 
of the former. 

Our new industrial system has resulted in an enormous 
growth of cities. As we have seen, the divorce rate is higher 
in urban than in rural communities. Here are 

. . City life. 

most apparent the differences in standards of 

living. Again, vice and immorality are often associated 

with city life. Slums constitute a difficult environment 

for a wholesome family life, while a normal happy family 

life is hard to attain for those living in the fairly congested 

districts. 

The rise of individualism took place in the period follow- 
ing the Renaissance. It expressed itself in the Protestant 
Reformation, and in the French and American 
Revolutions. As a further result of this liberal- progress: 
izing movement, marriage came to be regarded f-^^J^ 
more as a civil contract than as a sacrament. 
The old authoritative type of the family reached its 
extreme development in patriarchal days, when woman 
was regarded as the property of the husband. For many 
centuries, traces of that spirit lingered in family life, but 
to-day they have been practically obliterated by the 
spread of democratic individualism. Again, social insti- 



536 Problems of American Democracy 

tutions are not now regarded as existing for themselves, 
but rather for the benefit of those who create them. Thus, 
marriage as an institution is not always considered 
inherently sacred. 

The rise of individualism has also reflected itself in what 
is generally known as the Woman's Movement. We have 
The Woman's spoken of the economic emancipation of woman, 
Movement. an( j now p ags to a cons i(i era tion of the intel- 
lectual and legal aspects of the problem. The inferior 
position of woman, due to her economic dependence upon 
man, no longer exists. Under the old system, the wife 
had little redress for wrongs suffered. She often accepted 
her fate stoically; but, with the acquisition of new rights 
and a new point of view, woman has chosen to obtain relief 
from conditions to which she formerly submitted. The 
rising divorce rate — unfortunate though it be — does reflect 
the growing freedom of American women and does not 
necessarily indicate that conditions of family life are worse 
than they were before the movement began. 

The decrease of illiteracy shows that education is no 

longer the prerogative of the few. Public schools, free 

libraries, and daily newspapers disseminate 

Populariza- i 1 j i_ • i_ i_ • '4.' £ 

Hon of knowledge which brings emancipation from 

e aiTuw. tradition. Knowledge and progress always pro- 
duce social unrest. To this principle the insti- 
tution of marriage is no exception. Existing injustices are 
more keenly felt, and escape is sought from a condition 
which formerly was endured. Law, as well as education, 
has been popularized. Ordinary legal knowledge is now 
within the reach of every one and the courts are open to all. 
Individuals who formerly knew little of divorce now know 
how and why it may be obtained. 



The Problem of the Modern Family 537 

History bears witness to the fact that no stable family 
life has endured without a religious basis. In Rome the 
decay of religion was followed by the increase of „ , , 

J <=> •> Moral and 

divorce. At present, we are witnessing the religious 
passing of the dogmatic age of religious history. 
With the change in the point of view goes an increase in 
divorce. Although dogma to-day does not occupy a posi- 
tion of supreme importance, it is true that character and 
service are becoming more important. New ethical con- 
cepts of right and wrong are being formed. Formerly, it 
was regarded as pious to continue the sacred marriage 
relationship in spite of all differences, and to endure any 
suffering which might arise. At present, however, the 
modern attitude seems to be that marriage, like the Sab- 
bath, was made for man, and not man for marriage. Again, 
an increase of divorce does not necessarily mean an increase 
of immorality. It may mean that our moral standards are 
higher, and that fewer wives will permit deception or 
brutality. Thus, the new situation may really be an 
indication of higher ideals of family life. 

The Outlook. — In response to the invitation of the 
Governor of Pennsylvania, a commission of over one hun- 
dred representatives from almost all the states 
of the union met at Washington, in February, Congress 

. & ' . J \ on Uniform 

1906. This meeting was known as the National Divorce 
Congress on Uniform Divorce Laws. No fed- 
eral divorce law was regarded as feasible, because it would 
require the passage of a constitutional amendment. It was 
desirable, however, that all states cooperate in order to 
secure uniform divorce legislation. It was agreed that all 
applicants for divorce should be bona fide residents of the 
state in which the suit was filed, and that, to secure a decree 



53 8 Problems of American Democracy 

of absolute divorce, the applicant should reside two years 
in the state. The Congress desired to see the number of 
causes of divorce reduced and to standardize the whole 
divorce question. It was thought that a decree dissolving 
the marriage tie and permitting the remarriage of either 
party should not become operative until after the lapse of 
a reasonable time. The Wisconsin, Illinois, and Cali- 
fornia rule of one year was recommended. It was also 
recommended that each state collect and publish annually 
statistics upon marriage and divorce. While uniform 
divorce laws would be of great advantage, it must not be 
imagined that mere uniformity of legislation would pre- 
vent the increase of divorce, the causes of which are deep- 
seated and complex. 

The attitude of the Roman Catholic Church upon divorce 
has already been mentioned. The Protestant churches 
_ r , , have also been alarmed at the rapid increase of 

Work of r 

religious divorce, and at various meetings of the govern- 

bodies. . , . 

ing bodies of the different denominations action 
has been taken upon the subject. Slight discrepancies 
exist in the resolutions of the different bodies, but a con- 
sistent effort has been made to lessen the number of causes 
of divorce. Infidelity is usually regarded as the sole scrip- 
tural ground for the granting of divorce. The indiscrim- 
inate marriage of divorced people has also been condemned. 
The desirability of uniform marriage and divorce laws is 
apparent, but uniformity in administration is also needed. 
Remedies: Not only a decrease in the number of causes for 
Legal. absolute divorce, but also a legal prohibition of 

the marriage of divorced people is often recommended. 
This latter restriction, however, is regarded by some writers 
as both dangerous and undesirable. Better, perhaps, 



The Problem of the Modern Family 539 

would be the recommendation of the National Congress on 
Uniform Divorce Laws that a certain time must elapse 
after the granting of divorce before the remarriage of either 
party. This is sometimes done by a nisi or conditional 
clause, which prevents the divorce from becoming operative 
until after the lapse of a year or two. This condition 
affords the possibility of a reconciliation, while it lessens 
the likelihood of fraud or scandal. Some communities have 
established special Courts of Domestic Relations. Under 
this system, all applications for divorce first come before a 
special tribunal, which carefully investigates the case in 
order to determine whether, for the good of society, the 
dissolution of the family tie is warranted. Reconciliation 
is generally the aim of the court; but, unfortunately, it is 
often too late to accomplish this end. Regarding all rem- 
edies for divorce, it is well to remember that divorce itself 
is merely the legalization of the disruption* of family life 
which has already been accomplished. Real reform has its 
roots in pre-marital conditions and in family life itself, 
rather than in restrictions on divorce. Bad marriages are 
essentially the cause of divorce. These include in the 
words of Prof essor Howard "frivolous, mercenary, ignorant, 
and physiologically vicious unions." Again, the various 
causes resident in the environment which hinder a whole- 
some family life should be carefully considered in any com- 
prehensive attempt to solve the divorce problem. 

In seeking to cure the divorce evil, the proper education 
of the young is even more necessary than the legal remedies. 
Education in its broadest sense is designed to 

. . Educational. 

fit the child for his proper place in society. 

It is more than formal instruction in a course of study. 

It should therefore emphasize the basic position of the 



'540 Problems of American Democracy 

family, the sanctity of the marriage relationship, and the 
necessity for high family ideals. To do this the Church, 
the school, and the home should cooperate, each having 
the same aim but pursuing different methods. The 
importance of the family, not only to the individuals con- 
cerned but to society itself, should be emphasized. Atten- 
tion must therefore be given not only to moral education, 
but to careful training in the actual duties of the home. 
From the standpoint of the family, the modern course in 
domestic science is a most important factor in promoting 
social welfare. 

It would seem that the family, like other social institu- 
tions, is in a process of transition. The economic bonds 
which formerly held it together are weakening, 
of adjust- while at the same time the patriarchal ideal of 
family life is gradually disappearing. The 
family of the future must depend largely upon mutual love, 
consideration, and forbearance. It will therefore be 
stronger and of a higher type. Again, the unfortunate 
increase of divorce may be one indication of social progress, 
which is always a costly process. Enlightenment illumi- 
nates injustices and maladjustments. The older type of 
family was more stable because it rested upon an authori- 
tative basis. A more democratic type must be evolved in 
harmony with the higher ethical standards of the age. 
Of the monogamic family we need not despair. The single 
pairing family will persist. After the process of adjust- 
ment is completed, the ideal of life-long union will once 
more triumph. The new type of family will be founded 
upon the principle of mutual obligation. It will be demo- 
cratic and the spirit of dominance and subordination will 
disappear. 



The Problem of the Modem Family 541 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1 . How and why may the family be regarded as the fundamental 
social unit? 

2. Distinguish between the primary and secondary functions of 
the family. Explain each. 

3. Do you think that the family is losing some of its secondary 
functions? If so, to what other social institutions? Explain. 

4. Is the permanent monogamic family an old social institution? 
Discuss from the life of primitive peoples. 

5. Compare the family life of early and later Roman history. 

6. Discuss the institution of marriage in the Middle Ages. 

7. Explain the sacramental theory of marriage. 

8. Show how marriage came to be regarded as a civil contract. 

9. Name some proposed reforms regarding our marriage laws. 

10. Show the rapid increase of divorce in the United States. 

1 1 . Compare the increase of divorce with the increase of population. 

12. Compare the divorce rate with the marriage rate. 

13. How does our divorce rate compare with that of Europe? 

14. Show the geographical distribution of divorce in America. 

15. Compare the urban and rural rates. Give reasons for the 
difference. 

16. Show the influence upon the divorce rate of race, nativity, 
and religious belief. 

17. What are the most important legal grounds of divorce? 
Discuss their general significance to the student. 

18. Outline the causes of the increase of divorce. 

19. How does the opening of numerous occupations to women 
affect the divorce rate and why? 

20. Show the role played by higher standards and increased cost of 
living. 

21. Discuss the effect of the popularization of law and education 
on divorce. 

22. How has the moral and religious sentiment in regard to 
marriage altered? 

23. Discuss the proposed legal remedies for the divorce problem 
and their limitations. 

24. Explain the fundamental cure for the divorce evil. 



542 Problems of American Democracy 

25. Show how the increase of divorce presents a problem of social 
adjustment. 

26. Explain both the pessimistic and the optimistic sides of the 
phenomenon of increased divorce. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Various forms of family life and marriage relationships. 

2. The position of women in ancient Athens and Rome. 

3. The cost of social progress. 

4. City life and divorce. 

5. The problem of desertion. 

6. Migration for divorce. 

7. The remarriage of divorced people. 

8. Effects of the Industrial Revolution on home and family life. 

9. The divorce laws of your state. 

10. The rise of individualism and its relation to divorce. 

REFERENCES 

Adler, F. Marriage and Divorce. 

Ell wood, C. A. Sociology and Modern Social Problems. Chapter VIII. 

Goodsell, W. The Family as a Social and Educational Institution. 

Howard, G. E. History of Matrimonial Institutions. 

Lichtenberger, J. P. Divorce — A Study in Social Causation. 

Reports on Marriage and Divorce. U. S. Census, iqoq. 

Ross, E. A. Principles of Sociology. 

Westermarck, E. History of Human Marriage. 

Willcox, W. F. The Divorce Problem: a Study in Statistics. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

Public Education in a Democracy 

T. The development of national school systems 
i. In Europe 
2. In the United States: 

a. Its growth 

b. Its administration 

II. The broadening of the curriculum 
i. The scientific movement: 

a. In general 

b. In education 

c. In methods 

2. The sociological tendency 

3. Vocational training: 

a. Industrial education: 

(1) In Europe 

(2) In America 

b. Commercial schools 

c. Agricultural schools 
III. Recent tendencies 

1. Social activities 

2. Home and School Movement 

3. Other educational agencies 

4. Educational readjustment 

5. The social ideal 

Education is the bulwark of civilization. It is the 
fundamental basis of democracy. Through it society 
secures the discipline and training needed for its progressive 
development. In no other way can the social inheritance 

543 



544 Problems of American Democracy 

of a people be transformed into sound national character. 
For this reason it is the duty of the State to provide a 
system of education which will insure the realization of 
national ideals, as well as the attainment of economic ends. 
The Development of National School Systems. 
Until recent years, schools were regarded as private 
ventures and a man's education was a matter of 

In Europe. 

concern only to himself and his parents. There 
were no national school systems at public expense. The 
pioneers of public education were found in various philan- 
thropic institutions, such as the charity schools of England. 
The great progress of democracy in the last century had 
its effect upon education, which has now come to be 
regarded as a civic necessity. The former aristocracy of 
learning is a thing of the past. The masses, whom the 
past regarded as mere "hewers of wood and drawers of 
water," are no longer content to remain in ignorance. The 
old medieval monarch may have wished merely a loyal 
peasantry, but modern democratic nations cannot continue 
to exist without educated citizenship. Thus, during the 
last century and a half, the leading nations of Europe 
have developed state systems of education. Prussia was 
one of the first to organize a scheme of universal education 
and to make the system compulsory. This was accom- 
plished by the benevolent despot, Frederick the Great. 
A national system of education had its beginnings in 
France during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. 
Louis Philippe, upon the advice of his minister Guizot, 
organized a scheme of elementary education whereby each 
commune was required to establish a primary school. 
Under the present Third Republic, elementary education 
has been made free to all and compulsory. The seculari- 



Public Education in a Democracy 545 

zation of the school system from church control has also 
gradually taken place. The administration of schools in 
France is highly centralized under a Minister of Education. 
A national system of education was late in appearing in 
England, because the established Anglican Church main- 
tained a strong grip on educational institutions. In 1870, 
however, an important law was passed establishing elemen- 
tary schools supported by government grants. Compulsory 
school laws have also been passed. 

Our own early educational policy varied in the different 
colonies. The aristocratic ideal reflected itself in the 
famous dictum of Governor Berkeley of Virginia 
condemning free schools. In New England, on united 

States * 

the other hand, the school house, like the Its gro ' wth 
meeting house, was conspicuous in every town- 
ship. As early as 1647, Massachusetts required each 
town of fifty families to support an elementary school; 
and each town of a hundred families, a grammar school — 
an institution similar to the secondary school of to-day. 
That the fathers of our nation realized the importance of 
higher education was witnessed by the founding of such 
colleges as Harvard, and William and Mary. The early 
part of the nineteenth century saw the rapid extension of 
the common school system throughout the United States. 
The "little red school house" dotted the western wilder- 
ness, so rapidly developed by our hardy pioneers. The 
public high school, a characteristic American educational 
institution, arose to take the place of the older Latin gram- 
mar schools and the private academies. Normal schools 
were also established for the training of teachers. Not only 
has the number of students in such institutions increased, 
but educational standards have risen. 
JJ 



546 Problems of American Democracy 

There is as yet no centralized administration of schools 
in the United States, for each state has its own independent 
Its adminis- system. These state systems, however, do not 
tration. vary so widely as might be expected. Every 

state has a well-organized plan of elementary education, 
and a more or less well-developed secondary or high school 
system, providing instruction for three or four additional 
years. Many commonwealths have large and well- 
endowed state universities, so that free education from 
kindergarten to college is within the reach of all their 
citizens. Our American democracy, with its fundamental 
principle of the separation of Church and State, has 
regarded education as the bulwark of free institutions. 
Unlike Europe, religious or sectarian schools have not been 
incorporated into our public educational system. Another 
difference between the school systems of Europe and those 
of America lies in our own refusal to recognize class dis- 
tinctions. In Germany, for example, there are separate 
schools for those who expect to prepare for the universities 
and for those who must leave school as soon as possible. 
The needed differentiation in preparation takes place in 
the elementary schools. In the United States, on the con- 
trary, it is deferred to as late a date as possible. There is 
practically one educational ladder for all classes. The 
system of separate schools for different groups may be more 
efficient in producing differentiated results, but it is dis- 
tasteful to the ideals of American democracy. 

The Broadening of the Curriculum. — The scientific 
experiments of Roger Bacon gleamed like a bright star in 
the dark sky of medieval ignorance and superstition. 
The various prophecies of his brilliant imagination have 
since become facts of every day experience. With the 



Public Education in a Democracy 547 

Renaissance began the dawn of a new era in physical 
science. The theory of Copernicus shattered the older 
astronomical ideas, while Galileo, peering through 
his crude telescope, dared to assert that it was scientific 
not the sun but the earth which revolved. ™ ovement: 

In general. 

Scientific investigation not only continued, but 
geographical discoveries widened the field of knowledge. 
The movement gradually progressed until it culminated, 
in the nineteenth century, in the development of the 
biological sciences. This field was brilliantly investigated 
under Darwin, Huxley, and Spencer. The scientific move- 
ment also reflected itself in a practical manner in a great 
series of mechanical inventions. The steam engine, for 
example, revolutionized land and water transportation, as 
well as the methods of manufacturing. Modern life has 
been transformed by the application of steam and elec- 
tricity to industry. As in the days of the Renaissance, the 
human intellect has been reborn. 

The scientific movement not only affected industry, but 
also education. Through its influence the content of lib- 
eral education began to expand, and numerous ineduca- 
new studies clamored for admission into the Um ' 
curriculum. In his essay upon education, Herbert Spencer 
threw down the gauntlet to conservatives and boldly asked 
the question, "What knowledge is of most worth?" After 
discussing various aims, he answers this question by declar- 
ing that education should be a practical preparation for 
life. "How to live? — that is the essential question for 
us." In his enumeration of the studies conducive to that 
end, the sciences take a commanding position. The 
so-called cultural subjects are not entirely eliminated, but 
are relegated to the leisure time of life and, therefore, of 



548 Problems of American Democracy 

education. Thomas Huxley also advocated the value of 
the sciences in comparison with the traditional study of 
the classics. Not only is a knowledge of science valuable, 
but the training in scientific method- is most important. 
Thus, science in one form or another has found its way 
into an assured place in the curriculum, not only of the 
secondary schools, but also of the elementary schools. 
Physics and chemistry are taught in the high schools, in 
addition to mathematics and the classics. In the ele- 
mentary schools, geography, physiology, and nature study 
find a place beside the "three R's." Meanwhile, courses 
in the modern sciences had already found their way into 
the colleges and universities. Great scientific and tech- 
nical schools have been founded for instruction in engi- 
neering, chemistry, and industry. 

One other effect of the scientific movement in education 
must be mentioned. When the scientific method of obser- 
vation and experimentation was directed toward 

In methods. , . 

education itself, great changes took place in the 
method of teaching and in school administration. Many 
accepted methods were found, in the light of scientific tests, 
to represent merely traditional ideas. With the develop- 
ment of psychology, education became a science as well as 
a practical art. The popular cry for efficiency has been 
echoed from industry to education. The old-fashioned 
schoolmaster and the " little red school house" of our par- 
ents are passing into history. Changes are taking place 
so rapidly as to be bewildering. The "fad" evil is com- 
mon to periods of transition, and mere radicalism must not 
be interpreted as progress. However, the new problems 
of a new age always require educational readjustment. 
In conclusion, we may state that the scientific movement 



Public Education in a Democracy 549 

of the nineteenth century has been characterized by a great 
increase in the content of education, by the addition of 
the natural sciences, and also by great changes in methods 
and in school administration. 

The sociological movement in education grew out of the 
scientific. It answers the question "What knowledge is of 
most worth?" by emphasizing the importance 
of that knowledge which fits the individual to The 

• . . sociological 

meet the needs of his social and economic tendency, 
environment. The aim is social rather than 
individual. Upon its theoretical side, it would add to the 
curriculum the social as well as the natural sciences. Thus, 
in higher education the social sciences have taken a most 
important place in the curriculum. Economics has found 
its way down into the secondary schools, and civics into 
the elementary schools. Sociology itself, in the form of a 
study of concrete social problems, is now being incorporated 
into the high school curriculum. On its practical side, the 
sociological view of education adds to the curriculum 
vocational training for those pupils who must soon join 
the ranks of wage earners. This ideal of education aims 
to prepare the individual for his economic and social 
environment by means of industrial education, com- 
mercial training, or agricultural instruction. 

One of the most conspicuous educational movements of 
to-day is the development of vocational training. This 
may take three forms: (1) industrial, (2) com- vocational 
mercial, and (3) agricultural. Under the older training: 
system of industry, the' individual passed 
through the stage of apprenticeship, wherein he was 
taught by the master of the shop all phases of his future 
occupation. Following the Industrial Revolution and the 



550 Problems of American Democracy 

development of the factory system, this method of "learning 
a trade" gradually declined. At present, the work of a 
factory employee is generally limited to a single process, 
and only occasionally does the employer attempt to 
broaden the knowledge of the workers. Hence the school, 
an outside agency, has been called upon to meet the 
demands of industrial education. Many states of Europe 
have had training of this sort for half a century. In 
Germany, continuation schools have been successful. A 
continuation school is so called because in it education is 
continued after the pupil discontinues regular school ses- 
sions. The employee is permitted by his employer to 
return to school a certain number of hours each week. 
Many localities have made such attendance compulsory for 
all apprentices up to the age of eighteen and have required 
the employers to grant them time for such study. Not 
only is training provided for the lower grades of artisans, 
but instruction is given to foremen, superintendents, and 
technical clerks. 

Industrial education in our own country appeared later 
than in Europe. Real skill and technical knowledge were 
needed, under the stress of international competition, for 
industrial supremacy. The earliest industrial schools in 
America were founded by private philanthropy or as a 
result of individual experiment. In the twentieth century, 
however, they appeared as an integral part of the public 
school system. Trade schools have been established in 
numerous cities, while continuation classes have sometimes 
been inaugurated in connection with compulsory education 
laws. Thus, the recent law of Pennsylvania requires 
partial school attendance for employees between fourteen 
and sixteen years of age. Manual training courses had 



Public Education in a Democracy 551 

already been established in secondary schools and have 
even appeared lately in the more elementary grades. 
The purpose of manual training instruction, as distinguished 
from that of trade schools, is to offer the student general 
industrial training rather than to prepare him for any 
particular occupation. 

Vocational training has not been altogether industrial. 
With the great expansion of commerce, as well as of 
manufacturing, came the demand for a thorough commercial 
preparation for a business career. Only of schools - 
recent years, in the United States, has this phase of educa- 
tion come to be regarded as a function of our public school 
system, which, throughout the greater part of the nine- 
teenth century, stressed the purely traditional side of 
education. At the present time, however, commercial 
courses have won a recognized place in our scheme of 
public education. In England, in spite of her dominating 
position in the markets of the world, commercial education 
has been but a recent development. In our own country, 
the early history of commercial education was the usual 
story of private enterprise fulfilling a public need. Indeed, 
at the present time, business schools and other such private 
institutions number about one-half of all students of com- 
mercial education. Finally, the insistent demand for a 
modern type of education won the recognition of public 
school authorities. Since the opening of the present 
century, great progress in this type of education has been 
made. Commercial courses, as well as the manual training, 
have been added to the older and more purely academic 
high school curriculum. By recognizing the divergent 
needs of the various students who attend American public 
high schools, secondary education is no longer exclusively 



552 Problems of American Democracy 

a merely traditional preparation for a classical college 
career. In fact, the universities themselves have long since 
recognized the need of practical education. Not only 
their splendid engineering schools, but also their widely 
attended courses in finance and commerce, bear eloquent 
witness to the great educational adjustments made by our 
American universities. 

Another aspect of vocational education is the agricul- 
tural. In 1862, Congress appropriated lands in every 
Agricultural state, amounting to millions of acres, for the 
schools. promotion of education. Because of the obvious 

needs of national life, it was stipulated that agricultural 
education should be emphasized in the schools thus founded. 
Nearly all our states, therefore, have established colleges 
which receive public support and which provide means of 
agricultural instruction. The need for such training is 
great because the United States is still primarily an agri- 
cultural nation, and her present methods of farming are 
often wasteful and inadequate. In many rural communities 
agricultural courses in high schools have been organized, 
and the movement is even taking root in the ele- 
mentary school system. Not only has agricultural edu- 
cation resulted in more efficient methods of farming, but 
it has also stimulated an interest in country life and its 
opportunities. In many rural communities the school has 
become, for the surrounding farmers, a cooperative center 
where soils are tested, the results of experiments shown, 
and a general knowledge of scientific farming disseminated. 

Recent Tendencies. — Vocational education is but one 
illustration of the increasing social service performed by the 
school. For those who are too old to attend day sessions, 
the elementary system provides night schools, where immi- 



Public Education in a Democracy 553 

grants learn to read and write the English language, and 
where the foundations of American citizenship are laid. 
High schools have their evening courses for the social 
more advanced student, while the univer- actlvlties - 
sity extension movement and the evening college courses 
afford development for minds even more matured. In fact, 
the educational opportunities of the present age are so great 
that no excuse exists for general ignorance. The functions 
of the school have likewise increased. Playgrounds are now 
frequently operated in connection with the public school 
system and afford opportunities for recreation in the con- 
gested areas of the cities. School gardens have also been 
opened. Again, modern administrative school methods 
have provided special schools and classes for the mentally 
deficient. Many. cities not only maintain open air classes 
for tubercular children, but also look after the education of 
the deaf and the blind. Free medical and dental service 
is provided for the poorer pupils, while many school systems 
even employ a special corps of trained nurses. School 
lunches are frequently served at cost to the pupils, or fur- 
nished free to the poorer children in immigrant sections. 
Social- service has become a department of the schools, as 
well as of the hospitals. The attendance officers of the 
department of compulsory education cooperate with the 
probation officers of the juvenile courts to check the crim- 
inal careers of youthful law breakers. 

Another educational development of social importance 
is what is known as the "Home and School Movement." 
It seeks not only to bring the parents of the chil- 
dren into closer touch with the work of the School 

. Movement. 

school, but also to acquaint the teacher with 

the social background of the pupils. In some communities 



554 



Problems of American Democracy 



the school house has become a social center. Here the people 
of the community gather to listen to lectures on present-day- 
topics, or to enjoy some kind of dramatic or musical enter- 
tainment. While community singing is still new in 
America, it has nevertheless met with great success in social 
centers frequented by the music-loving immigrants. Athletic 
contests, classes in gymnastics, and even folk dancing have 
been held in these centers. In some sections, where the 
community spirit is strong, "sociables" and educational 




A Rural School in the South 

amusements have been planned. Since the school plant 
is public property, there is no good reason why it should 
not be used more frequently for community functions. 

In addition to the public school, there are numerous 

other institutions of an educational character. Foremost 

among these is the public library. In this form 

educational of philanthropy, Andrew Carnegie took the lead, 

agencies. km, • 

having devoted a large part of his fortune to the 
building of public libraries. Here the leading magazines 



Public Education in a Democracy 



555 



are on file, and books of fiction, travel, and scientific knowl- 
edge may be read. The newspaper has been a great means 
of popularizing education by the dissemination of informa- 
tion. The sensational journal, however, is more per- 
nicious than valuable, for stories of scandal and details of 
harrowing crime exercise a most baneful influence on the 
public mind. Museums and art galleries constitute 




A Modern Rural School 



another educational agency. Since good pictures have 
great educational and moral value, many cities have estab- 
lished public galleries and museums. Here are exhibited 
not only works of art, but scenes and products of far dis- 
tant places. Industrial exhibits, showing the stages in the 
production of various commodities, have also been intro- 
duced. Zoological gardens and city aquariums may like- 



556 Problems of American Democracy 

wise be mentioned as containing specimens of animal life 
both interesting and instructive to the general public. 

Educational readjustment is the outstanding feature of 

the recent trend of educational development. It may be 

well to summarize here the causes and evidences 

Educa- . ... 

tionairead- of the progress made in this direction. One 
evidence of educational readjustment is the 
growing content of the curriculum. We have already 
mentioned the great development of the natural and social 
sciences. Since the sum total of human knowledge is 
constantly increasing, each age must decide for itself 
what knowledge is of most worth. Educational readjust- 
ment is one indication of intellectual progress, for static 
societies abhor educational changes. Again, methods of 
teaching and progress in school administration are keeping 
pace with the growth of the science of education. But the 
most important factor in educational readjustment is the 
spread of the spirit of democracy. Education for all is the 
modern ideal, for education itself is both a cause and a result 
of democracy. The need of "the classes" is not that of 
''the masses": the educational ideals of the aristocracy of 
yesterday are not the democratic ideals of to-day. Conse- 
quently, the curricula and the courses of modern public 
schools have expanded far beyond the straight and narrow 
path of antiquity, that led to "culture" and a "liberal 
education." Thus, we have seen the enormous commercial 
and industrial development of the past century reflect itself 
in educational changes. Industrial society feels the need of 
intelligent workers, and the present generation asks for that 
type of education which will best prepare it for the prac- 
tical duties of every-day life. Therefore, vocational courses 
are demanded by this work-a-day world. 



Public Education in a Democracy 557 

A final factor in educational readjustment is the growth 
of the social ideal. The individualistic tendencies of the 
past must give way to the training for group The social 
life and for democratic citizenship. Such an ldeaL 
ideal necessitates changes not only in subject matter, but 
also in school government. Courses in civic and social 
problems are splendid aids to good citizenship, but they 
must be supplemented by student activities. We learn 
good citizenship by trying to carry out its principles, 
rather than by studying them. We can learn democracy 
only by practicing it in our daily lives. If the social ideal 
within us does not find expression in some constructive 
work, it soon languishes. No student is too young to 
engage in some humble cooperative task or civic work. 
The school itself is a community in which the student 
should learn the principle of self-restraint for the good of 
the greatest number. Discipline imposed from above may 
at times be necessary, but it is a poor substitute for student 
self-government. School spirit in the youthful soul is 
akin to the patriotism of maturity. It should be fostered 
not merely as an emotional sentiment, but also as a 
rational means of social control. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Trace the development of national school systems in Europe. 

2. How has the progress of democracy stimulated this movement? 

3. Compare the present school systems (elementary, secondary, 
and higher) of England, France, and Germany with our own. 

4. Discuss education in colonial America. 

5. Sketch our educational progress in the last century. 

6. Give the effect of the scientific movement upon education. 

7. Explain the sociological tendency in education. 

8. Discuss the industrial education and the continuation schools 
of Germany. 



558 Problems of American Democracy 

9. What is the United States doing in this respect? 

10. Show the progress of commercial education in the United 
States. 

11. Discuss the value of agricultural schools. 

12. Enumerate the social activities of the school. 

13. What agencies for social betterment are now cooperating with 
the school? 

14. Describe the work and possibilities of a school used as a 
community center. 

15. Name some other agencies for popular education? 

16. Describe the work of the one in which you are most interested. 

17. Summarize the causes that have made educational readjust- 
ment necessary. 

18. Apply the social ideal of education to school administration. 

19. Describe the work of some student-governing body in your 
school. 

20. Defend or criticize the placing of this course in problems of 
democracy in your curriculum. 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. The old Chinese system of education. 

2. Cultural ideals in education — origin, growth, and present 
status. 

3. Student life in the Middle Ages. 

4. Some famous public schools of England. 

5. Educational institutions of Germany — (e. g., Gymnasia and 
Realschule). 

6. The secularization of the schools of Europe — (e. g., in France). 

7. Democratic ideals in American education. 

8. Linking the school with industry. 

9. The Home and School Movement in your community. 
10. Pioneers in modern educational movements. 

REFERENCES 

Boone, R. G. Education in the United States. 

Burch, H. R. The Economic and Social Side of the School Curriculum. 

Dewey, J. Democracy and Education. 



Public Education in a Democracy 559 

Dewey, J. Schools of To-Morrow. 

Gillette, J. M. Vocational Education. 

Graves, F. P. A History of Education in Modem Times. 

Graves, F. P. A Student's History of Education. 

King, I. Education for Social Efficiency. 

Monroe, P. A Brief History of Education. Chapters I to VII and 

XII to XIV. 
Spencer, H. Education. 



CHAPTER XL 

The Widening Morality and Social Progress 

I. The evolution of morality 
i . Its instinctive basis 

2. Its social origin 

3. Group standards 

4. Stages of progress 

5. Society and the individual 

6. The role of altruism 
II. Moral adjustment 

1. The aim of adjustment 

2. Social morality 

3. The Church and social reform 
III. The nature of progress 

1. Is progress possible? 

2. Different interpretations 

3. Value of the individual 

4. A problem of adjustment 

5. Progress a two-fold process 

6. Conscious evolution 

The Evolution of Morality. — Morality may be denned 

as the code of conduct governing the relations between 

individuals. It takes different forms with 

Its 

instinctive various peoples and undergoes changes through- 
out long periods of time. Thus the morality 
of the Japanese is different from that of Americans, while 
the conduct of civilized man is altogether at variance with 
that of primitive people. Indeed, there may have been a 

560 



The Widening Morality and Social Progress 561 

time in the history of primitive society when man was 
unmoral, that is, neither moral nor immoral. During this 
period of man's development his instincts were so intense 
and his mentality so undeveloped that he was probably 
unable to formulate any definite standards of conduct. 
At this time his actions were largely instinctive, that is, he 
followed his natural impulses. In fact, some uncivilized 
tribes of to-day are not far above this level, and the conduct 
of very young children, who have as yet formed no con- 
ceptions of right and wrong, closely resembles that of 
uncivilized people. In both of these cases instinct or nat- 
ural impulse plays the dominant part in determining human 
action. Only with the growth of civilization and the 
advance of education is man enabled to exercise an effective 
control over his instinctive actions. In this he is dis- 
tinguished from the lower animals in which even such 
admirable qualities as devotion and mother love are 
based largely upon mere biological necessity. These must 
therefore be regarded as instinctive rather than moral 
attributes. In conquering his anti-social instincts man 
has had a long up-hill struggle. Indeed, even to-day, in 
considering the morality of civilized man, this instinctive 
basis of human conduct must not be underestimated. 
Man is always struggling between good and bad instincts, 
between desirable and undesirable impulses, between 
social and anti-social actions. 

With the advance of civilization the instincts are largely 
replaced by the human reason in formulating rules of con- 
duct. Intelligence becomes a factor in guiding i ts social 
blind instinct, and progress is marked by a ongm - 
greater use of the intellect in making distinctions between 
right and wrong actions. But early morality is not only 

KK 



562 Problems of American Democracy 

instinctive; it is also largely social in character and its 
origin stretches far back into the remote past. The 
beginnings of a crude morality first resulted from the 
necessities of group life. Men could not live together 
without agreeing upon certain rules of conduct for the 
regulation of their daily lives. In this manner there 
developed that most characteristic of all institutions of 
early society — the fixed customs or methods of action 
prescribed for the group by constant usage. The test 
of conduct was its effect upon the group. Whenever 
certain actions, of instinctive or chance origin, proved 
themselves to be of value to group survival they 
became crystallized into fixed customs. On the other 
hand, whatever by chance or experience proved harmful to 
the group was frowned upon by society and finally became 
"taboo." In this manner, it frequently happened that 
irrational ideas based upon mere superstition became part 
of the fixed social tradition. 

We have already seen that standards of conduct vary 
among different peoples. The mores or customs of the 
Group group determine what is right and what is 

standards. wron g. Thus, cannibalism is a sacred rite in 
the moral code of certain savage tribes, while the sacrifice 
to the gods of youths and maidens was a religious duty 
among such an otherwise advanced people as the Aztecs. 
Christian ethics commands "love your enemies," but 
vengeance is the rule among the heathen savage. On the 
other hand, the moral code of primitive communistic 
societies would not sanction our ethics of individual property 
rights. Thus in static societies, where codes of conduct 
are rigid and inflexible, man's attitude toward conduct is 
largely colored by the inherited ideas of his group. From 



The Widening Morality anal Social Progress 563 

this point of view, an individual should be called good or 
bad only in the light of his social environment. He is 
considered the most moral who best lives up to the ethical 
standards of his group — whatever they may be. Even the 
greatest moral philosophers of antiquity, like Confucius 
and Socrates, must be considered in the light of their age 
and civilization. Individual morality is a greater or less 
variation from the standards of the group. Moreover, 
another social characteristic of morality lies in the fact 
that there may be two separate standards of conduct, — 
one applicable to members of the group and another 
applicable to outsiders. Thus the savage might indis- 
criminately scalp those outside the group, but not his 
fellow tribesmen. Again, the colonists of America often 
regarded the Indian as an inferior creature who might be 
robbed of his lands, but they were most scrupulous in 
their ethical relations toward each other. The widening 
morality of the present age attempts to obliterate this 
distinction by formulating one code of ethics applicable to 
all nations of the world. 

There are three stages of progress in the development of 
morality — the negative, the transitional, and the positive. 
In early civilizations certain prohibitions — known stages of 
as the " taboo " — are placed upon man's conduct, P r °s ress - 
and obedience is secured through fear of punishment. 
But a civilization founded upon mere prohibition, like the 
"taboo" of the savage, is necessarily backward and 
unreasoning. It assumes that men are too wicked or 
ignorant to act positively for the attainment of group 
welfare. Primitive man was forcibly restrained from com- 
mitting certain actions inimical to group interests through 
fear of punishment or social ostracism. In fact, our own 



564 Problems of American Democracy 

method of suppressing crime by intimidation is a survival 
of this theory of morality. The next stage of moral 
development is an advance over that of mere prohibition. 
When a certain social custom was seen to be partly good 
and partly bad, some scheme of discrimination was devised 
by the growing intelligence. This power of intellectual 
consideration showed that the group had advanced in 
its attitude toward human conduct. It may well be 
illustrated by Roman civilization, in which the spirit of com- 
promise was developed and handed down to later genera- 
tions. The problem was looked at from the standpoint of 
group interests, and an attempt was made to arrive at a 
course of conduct best suited to the general welfare. 
This transitional period naturally merged into the positive 
stage of social morality in which the restrictions or pro- 
hibitions on human conduct play a diminishing role. Here 
society bends all its efforts toward the attainment of 
definite ideals. Social progress toward this higher stage is, 
however, retarded by the existence of vicious and ignorant 
individuals who will not of their own accord follow the 
course of action approved by the group. At present the 
civilized world is standing on the threshold of a still broader 
morality — a morality of the world order. This is the 
international aspect of social morality. This morality is 
not only positive, striving for the attainment of definite 
ideals, but also humanitarian, endeavoring to embrace 
within its operation all lands and peoples. 

The great problem of modern morality is that of recon- 
ciling the interests of the individual with those of society. 
The clash of selfish personal desires with social interests 
has been an age-long conflict. Early civilizations in their 
attempts to develop group morality frequently followed 



The Widening Morality and Social Progress 565 

irrational folkways which were rigidly enforced by law and 
religion. Moreover, with the growth of social classes, the 
few claimed the right to decide what was best „ . 

Society 

for the social interest. It thus happened that and the 

. individual. 

frequently their own ideas and interests colored 
the social fabric of human institutions. Against these 
traditional ideas of the dominant classes, reformers and 
prophets arose to preach the falsity of current beliefs and 
practices. Thus, Socrates taught a nobler code of ethics 
than that of the Sophists, and the Founder of Christianity 
rebuked the Pharisees, who followed the letter rather than 
the spirit of the law. Individuals in advance of their age 
may suffer martyrdom for insisting upon the right to follow 
the dictates of their own consciences when these come 
into conflict with the accepted ideas of society. Subse- 
quent history discloses whether or not they have succeeded 
in their attempt to advance the group morality to a higher 
level. However, those who refuse to conform to the cur- 
rent morality may be not only those who rise above it, 
but also those who fall below it. Each age has not only 
its reformers, but also those who are egoistic or even 
vicious enough to insist upon the acceptance of their own 
point of view irrespective of society's mandates. In the 
treatment of non-conformists society must choose between 
a policy of toleration and one of repression. An inflexible 
civilization deals out the same fate alike to the non-con- 
forming idealist and to the criminal ; for the offense in both 
cases is one against group morality. A higher civiliza- 
tion strives to work out the problem of how an individual 
may obey the moral code of the group and at the same time 
follow the dictates of his conscience. In this manner the 
group ethics becomes less rigid and more elastic. A con- 



566 Problems of American Democracy 

stant moral readjustment must go on in a progressive 
society, the ideals of which are ever advancing. 

Altruism, or consideration for others, is an important 
factor in the widening of morality. Its origin may be 
The role of traced to the biological fact of parenthood and 
altruism. ^ Q ^ e increasing length of the period of infancy. 
Its value in group survival increases with the advance of 
civilization because cooperation has proved to be a favor- 
able element in the process of selection at work in human 
society. Nevertheless it is true that man has had to 
struggle not only against his physical environment, but also 
against his fellow man. However, along with this struggle 
for his own existence, went man's struggle for the lives of 
his fellows. Altruism and self-interest have clashed at 
times, but the former has steadily increased in importance. 
It has become more purposive in modern society because it 
is directed by the growing human intelligence. Thus it 
is that slavery has disappeared in all civilized lands. Mod- 
ern altruism is content not merely with temporary allevia- 
tion of distress, but it seeks to banish the very causes of 
human misery. Again, the social circle within which 
altruism operates has constantly widened, until to-day it 
embraces the whole human race. Sympathy is felt not 
only toward members of the family and those with whom 
we come into personal contact, but toward all those 
embraced within the nation. Indeed sympathy to-day, 
like culture and commerce, is international in its 
manifestations. Generous help is extended to far- 
distant peoples in distress, as well as to those within 
our own national boundaries. Patriotism or love of 
country is an intensely national aspect of altruism and 
cooperation. 



The Widening Morality and Social Progress 567 

Moral Adjustment. — If civilization is not to remain 
static, moral ideas must become more rational with every 
period of historical evolution. To attain higher The aim of 
levels of morality constant readjustments are ad i ustment - 
therefore necessary. Viewed in this light, the moral sys- 
tems of the past represented the attempts of their foun- 
ders to bring the group morality up to the standard of the 
new social ideals. The process of adjustment was some- 
times evolutionary, and sometimes revolutionary. At 
the present time, society is attempting to develop a positive 
system of group morality in which each individual plays 
an active part. The primitive "taboo" of early society 
may be well enough for ignorant savagery, but it is essen- 
tially antagonistic to modern social ideals. The morality 
of freedom should supersede that of compulsion without 
danger to the social order. This development is rendered 
difficult, however, by the growing complexity of society 
and by the multiplicity of human relationships. The indi- 
vidual must exercise an intelligent discrimination against 
acts harmful to the social welfare. He must seek not 
merely to avoid a penalty, but rather to attain the happiness 
which lies in social well-being. This ideal is becoming the 
new basis of social progress. It believes in the realization 
of the possibilities of group action. According to this 
belief, it is the duty of society to eliminate as far as possible 
social and economic handicaps in order that man may 
attain free development and the highest happiness. This 
objective method may be known as the improvement of 
man's environment. From the subjective side, the highest 
social ideals should be impressed upon the heart and mind 
of the growing individual. 

Thus a social morality of an ever-widening character 



568 Problems of American Democracy 

is the great need of the present age. In earlier times it was 
thought proper for the individual to flee from the wicked- 
Social n ess of the world in order to save his own soul, 
morality. j n ^ twentieth century, such conduct would be 
regarded as purely negative in the social good accom- 
plished. Social morality, however, does not underestimate 
individual goodness. Virtue is personal and a society can 
be only as moral as the individuals composing it. The 
modern view of morality does, however, estimate the good- 
ness or badness of an act by its social, rather than its indi- 
vidual, consequences. Thus, a crime against society is of 
more social significance than an individual vice, although 
society does not, for a single instant, condone the act of 
vice. When men lived in comparative isolation, a social 
morality was not so imperative. The modern age, however, 
is as social as our civilization is cosmopolitan. Morality, 
like culture, is becoming international in character. The 
widening of commercial relations broadens the intellectual 
horizon and tends toward the development of uniform 
moral standards. But, although division of labor in mod- 
ern industrial society makes individuals mutually depen- 
dent upon each other, this interdependence is remote and 
indirect. We have, for example, little direct communica- 
tion with those who manufacture our foods, build our 
houses, and make our laws. Who indeed, to-day, is our 
neighbor? He is invisible but effective. Hence the need 
of a wider and more far-reaching social morality. Men 
may hesitate to rob orphans and widows, but they 
unblushingly sell goods of an inferior quality to the 
general public. The long-range crimes of the present 
century make necessary, therefore, a similar long-range 
morality. In conclusion, let us state that the widen- 



The Widening Morality and Social Progress 569 

ing social morality insists that a man is his brother's 
keeper and interprets in the widest possible sense the 
term "brother." 

The Great Teacher, in denning the greatest law, added 
the corollary "Love thy neighbor as thyself." We are 
at present still far removed from this exalted 
ideal of humanitarianism; nor have we yet and social 

reform. 

attained the new world order. The Church, 
however, has always been a philanthropic institution. Let 
us not forget that the medieval monks performed pioneer 
social work. By practical example, they taught the dignity 
of manual labor, as well as the art of philanthropy. Mon- 
asteries were retreats for the sick of body, as well as for the 
sick of heart. Here were received the weary traveler, the 
orphan, and the pauper. With the Renaissance and the 
breaking up of the medieval system, the spirit of indi- 
vidualism wrought changes in religious ideals. The prin- 
ciple of authority gradually gave way to that of individual 
responsibility in which the direct relationship between God 
and man was emphasized. At present, too, it would seem 
that the Church is going through another period of read- 
justment, in which character rather than creed occupies 
the dominating position. Sectarianism declines with the 
rise of the ideal of social service. Thus the twentieth cen- 
tury witnesses the Church fulfilling the mission of its 
Founder, spreading its altruistic spirit throughout society, 
and cementing once more the broken fabric of civilization. 
To accomplish this end, it becomes the stanch ally of the 
family, the school, and the State, in their combined attack 
upon the obstacles that lie in the path of human progress. 
The Church, itself, instills into this work of regeneration 
the vital spirit of hope and human sympathy. 



570 Problems of American Democracy 

The Nature of Progress. — Aside from the problem 
of immediate social reform, what are the possibilities of 
is progress ultimate human progress? Our answer to this 
possible? question will depend upon our attitude toward 
the idea of progress. This term has been variously inter- 
preted by different writers, and, indeed, some have even 
denied the existence of progress. For proof of their posi- 
tion they point to the welter of confusion and the destruc- 
tion of life and property that followed the world cataclysm 
of 1914, which almost resulted in the prostration of civil- 
ized Christendom. Again, in the nineteenth century, such 
an eminent essayist as John Ruskin regarded the great 
Industrial Revolution, through which England had just 
passed, as a step backward rather than forward, for the 
majority of mankind. Admitting that the advance of 
civilization is uneven, it does not necessarily follow that 
the march of centuries has not been marked by a progres- 
sive, if uneven, development. 

On the contrary, it seems rational to assert that society 

has progressed in a certain orderly fashion from prehistoric 

days to the present time. One group of writers 

Different J . . - . 11 j ' 1 

interpre- who take this point of view are called evolu- 
tionists. They look at the problem of social 
progress from the standpoint of selection and adaptation. 
To some it is an unconscious and undirected process in 
which natural selection is the determining factor. Hence 
they deny all moral implications in the process. To them 
progress is the result of a favorable geographical environ- 
ment, endowed with a temperate climate, sufficient rainfall, 
and abundant natural resources. They are known as geo- 
graphical determinists and would give us a purely economic 
interpretation of history. Other interpreters of progress 



The Widening Morality and Social Progress 571 

stress heredity, rather than environment, as the dominating 
factor in the advance of society. According to these 
writers certain races, representing superior biological 
stocks, have through their contributions to civilization 
made possible the accumulated progress of society. 
Through their military and peaceful conquests, the advance 
of backward races and of the world in general has been 
accomplished. Within a particular group itself these 
biological differences are also discernible. Hence certain 
individuals possessed of superior physical and mental 
qualities are enabled through intermarriage to transmit 
these qualities, which form the basis for future progress, to 
succeeding generations. Such prophets of progress are 
known as eugenists. 

Again, other writers have interpreted and explained 
progress in terms of dominant men and great institutions. 
It is well to keep constantly in mind the impor- 
tance of the individual in determining the course the in- 

. . . dividual. 

of human progress. The power of the individual 
in shaping social institutions is a vital factor in social 
progress as well as in the formation of moral systems. 
In fact, the basis of human progress is the individual. 
In his Representative Men, Emerson goes so far as to assert 
that an institution is but the lengthened shadow of a single 
individual. It is beyond question that the personal element 
or equation is a vital factor in the attainment of both 
progress and social morality. In his Heroes and Hero 
Worship, Carlyle has expounded, with perhaps undue 
elaboration, the " great man theory" of history and 
progress. 

The student may well be confused by such a variety of 
interpretations of human progress in each of which there is 



572 Problems of American Democracy 

an element of truth and justice. Perhaps these elements 

may best be combined by regarding progress from still 

another point of view. In our survey of the more 

A problem r J 

of adjust- important problems of American democracy we 

merit. . . . . 

have viewed progress as a series of adjust- 
ments. Obstacles in the upward path of society have 
been treated as economic and moral handicaps which the 
State attempts to remove by the force of cooperation and 
other human inventions. In this process the State itself 
has suffered changes and improvements, for never has a 
perfect commonwealth been reared by the efforts of man. 
As society progresses, social ideals are constantly advanc- 
ing. The problems of one age are succeeded by those of 
another, the solution of which results in the attainment of 
higher progress. George Eliot has said that the chief 
reward of virtue is an increased capacity for being good. 
In a similar manner, the chief result of successive progres- 
sive adjustments is the ability of society to attain higher 
levels of progress. 

In viewing the problem of progress from the standpoint 
of social adjustment, we have observed the constant 
„ operation of the twin forces of heredity and 

Progress r t J 

a two-fold environment. Undoubtedly one method of 

process. . . . 

furthering progress in American democracy lies 
in the improvement of the biological or physical heredity 
of the nation. This may be accomplished through a 
careful selective process and through the sane application 
of eugenic principles to society. Not only should the 
biological stocks at present within the nation be subjected 
to the process of selection, but this process should be 
applied to those foreign peoples seeking admittance to our 
shores. Without passing judgment upon the abstract 



The Widening Morality and Social Progress 573 

question of race superiority, recent investigations in the 
United States seem to point to the mental and physical 
superiority of the older American stocks. If this superiority 
is to be maintained, the original stocks must not be unduly 
weakened or contaminated. Viewing social progress from 
the standpoint of improvements in the environment, we 
have observed in the course of our study how the life of a 
people is profoundly influenced by both physical and social 
surroundings. On the physical side, man's conquest of 
nature has steadily advanced. Primitive man fled in 
terror from the very elements which civilized man has 
harnessed at his bidding. On the social side also, man's 
environment has constantly improved and widened. No 
longer are men bound by outworn traditions which at 
every turn hamper the attainment of progress. A new 
call to arms has been sounded against poverty, disease, 
political corruption, and economic exploitation. Through 
education, the social environment of many Americans is 
being completely transformed. Since most acquired char- 
acteristics cannot be transmitted, each generation begins 
anew the battle for progress, which in turn is aided by the 
progressive changes wrought by past generations in the 
great institutions of society. 

Finally, we must remember that evolution is not neces- 
sarily progress, but that progress is conscious evolution. 
Man has moulded the original process of evolu- Conscious 
tion to suit the needs of his modern environment. evolution * 
That is, in civilized societies, natural selection has largely 
given way to artificial selection. In the former process, 
evolution was a blind, unconscious adaptation of the organ- 
ism to the environment. Through variation, certain types 
were found to be better suited to given conditions and their 



574 Problems of American Democracy 

characteristics were transmitted through heredity to 
posterity. Moral qualities and progressive attributes 
were merely the by-products of this hard, implacable 
struggle for existence. Artificial selection, however, gives 
to these very qualities a dominant position in the 
selective process. They become true requisites of sur- 
vival. Instinct gives way to reason, and the individual 
himself becomes the radiating center of moral and social 
progress. He controls the blind forces of nature and 
directs the course of human evolution. In this manner, 
man becomes the responsible, directive element in social 
progress. To this extent, he is the master of his fate and 
the maker of his destiny. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION. 

i. What part does instinct play in human conduct? 

2. Trace the social origin of morality. 

3. What is the effect of the mores of the group upon the conduct 
of the individual? 

4. Explain the stages in moral progress. 

5. Discuss two different classes of individual non-conformists to 
the current morality approved by the group. 

6. What policies toward them may society follow? 

7. In what way does modern altruism differ from the earlier 
altruism? 

8. Why does progress necessitate a constant moral adjustment? 

9. Why is a social morality especially necessary for the present 
age? 

10. How do you think that it can best be developed? 

11. Discuss the past philanthropic work of the Church. 

12. What is the Church now doing for social welfare? 

13. What is your church doing? What else can it do? 

14. How may the Church aid in teaching social morality? 

15. Explain the economic interpretation of history. 

16. Explain the eugenic interpretation of social progress. 



The Widening Morality and Social Progress 575 

17. Name and illustrate another theory of progress. 

18. Why is progress never-ending? 

19. What are the twin forces of social progress? Explain each. 

20. What do you think of the possibilities of progress in the future? 

TOPICS FOR SPECIAL REPORT 

1. Moral and religious ideas among the Indians. 

2. The social ethics of some great religious teachers, like Buddha 
and Confucius. 

3. The non-conformist in history. 

4. An analysis of the most essential present-day moral qualities. 

5. The Church as a factor in social progress. 

6. The "great man theory" of history. 

7. The World War and social progress. . 

8. Changing ideas of right and wrong from century to century. 

9. The development of group morality in America during the 
World War. 

10. The progressive character of Christianity on both the moral 
and the religious side. 

11. Germany's false "Kultur" idea of progress. 

12. Effects of the Washington Conference (i92i-'22) on world 
morality and social progress. 

REFERENCES 

Carver, T. N. Essays in Social Justice. 

Dealey, J. Q. Sociology. Chapter VII. 

Hayes, E. C. Introduction to a Study of Sociology. Chapter XXX. 

Patten, S. N. New Basis of Civilization. 

Patten, S. N. The Social Basis of Religion. 

Richmond, M. Social Diagnosis. 

Ross, E. A. Social Control. Sin and Society. 

Stelzle, C. American Social and Religious Conditions. Chapter XI. 

Thompson, R. E. The Divine Order of Human Society. 

Todd, A. J. Theories of Social Progress. 



APPENDIX- 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 
PREAMBLE 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide 
for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the 
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

Section i. Two Houses 

i. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Con- 
gress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House 
of Representatives. 

Section 2. House of Representatives 

1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the 
electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors 1 
of the most numerous branch of the state legislature. 

2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained 
to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of 
that state in which he shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among 
the several states which may be included within this Union, according 
to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to 
the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service 

1 Voters. 

576 



Constitution of the United States 577 

for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all 
other persons 1 . The actual enumeration shall be made within three 
years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and 
within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they 
shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed 
one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one 
Representative; and, until such enumerations shall be made, the state 
of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts 
eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, 
New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, 
Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina 
five, and Georgia three. 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, 
the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and 
other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section 3. Senate 

1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
Senators from each state chosen by the legislature thereof 2 for six 
years; and each Senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of 
the first election, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into 
three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be 
vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class, at 
the expiration of the fourth year; and of the third class, at the expira- 
tion of the sixth year; so that one-third may be chosen every second 
year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during 
the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive thereof may 
make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legis- 
lature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 3 

3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to 
the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United 

1 Annulled by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. 
- Superseded by the Seventeenth Amendment. 
3 See Seventeenth Amendment. 

LL 



578 Problems of American Democracy 

States, who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state 
for which he shall be chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of 
the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5 . The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President 
pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall 
exercise the office of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice 
shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concur- 
rence of two-thirds of the members present. 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further 
than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy 
any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the United States; but the 
party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indict- 
ment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

Section 4. Elections and Meetings of Congress 

1 . The times, places, and manner, of holding elections for Senators 
and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legisla- 
ture thereof: but the Congress may at any time, by law, make or 
alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and 
such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they 
shall by law appoint a different day. 

Section 5. Powers and Duties of the Houses 

1, Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall 
constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may 
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the 
attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such 
penalties, as each House may provide. 

2. Each House may determine the rules of the proceedings, punish 
its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of 
two-thirds, expel a member. 



Constitution of the United States 579 

3. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and, from 
time to time, publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their 
judgment, require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members "of 
either House, on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those 
present, be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without 
the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 

Section 6. Privileges of and Restrictions on Members 

1. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation 
for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the 
treasury of the United States. They shall, in all cases, except 
treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and 
in going to, and returning from, the same; and for any speech or 
debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

2. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which 
he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of 
the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments 
whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no person, 
holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of 
either House during his continuance in office. 

Section 7. Revenue Bills: Veto of President 

1. All bills for raising revenue shall originat'e in the House of 
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amend- 
ments as on other bills. 

2 . Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives 
and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the 
President of the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if 
not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that House in which it 
shall have originated, who shaU enter the objections at large on their 
journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, 
two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, 
together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall 
likewise be reconsidered, and, if approved by two-thirds of that 
House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both 



580 Problems of American Democracy 

Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the 
persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal 
of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the 
President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been 
presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he 
had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its 
return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of 
the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on 
a question of adjournment) , shall be presented to the President of the 
United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved 
by him, or, being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules 
and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Section 8. Legislative Powers of Congress 

The Congress shall have power: 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay 
the debts, and provide for the common defence and general welfare, 
of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises, shall be 
uniform throughout the United States: 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States: 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the 
several states, and with the Indian tribes: 

4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform 
laws on the subject of bankruptcies, throughout the United States: 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, 
and fix the standard of weights and measures: 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities 
and current coin of the Unites States: 

7. To establish post-offices and post-roads: 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, 
for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to 
their respective writings and discoveries: 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court: 
10. To define and punish piracies and felonies, committed on the 
high seas, and offences against the law of nations : 



Constitution of the United States 581 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and 
make rules concerning captures on land and water: 

1 2 . To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of money to 
that use shall be for a longer term than two years : 

13. To provide and maintain a navy: 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land 
and naval forces: 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of 
the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions: 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, 
and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the 
service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively the 
appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia, 
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress: 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over 
such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of 
particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the 
seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise 
like authority over all places, purchased by the consent of the 
legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erec- 
tion of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful 
buildings : — And 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers 
vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, 
or in any department or officer thereof. 

Section 9. Prohibitions upon the United States 

1. The migration or importation of such persons, as any of the 
states, now existing, shall think proper to admit, shall not be pro- 
hibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred 
and eight; but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, 
not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

2 . The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may 
require it. 

3. No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, shall be passed. 



582 Problems of American Democracy 

4. No capitation, or other direct tax, shall be laid, unless in propor- 
tion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 1 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or 
revenue to the ports of one state over those of another; nor shall 
vessels bound to, or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear, or 
pay duties, in another. 

7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence 
of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account 
of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published 
from time to time. 

8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; and 
no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, with- 
out the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, 
office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign 
state. 

Section 10. Prohibitions upon the States 

1. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; 
grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; 
make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of 
debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing 
the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any 
imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be abso- 
lutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce 
of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, 
shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such 
laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. No 
state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, 
keep troops, or ships of war, in time of peace, enter into any agree- 
ment or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or 
engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger 
as will not admit of delay. 

1 See Sixteenth Amendment. 



Constitution of the United States 583 

ARTICLE II 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT: THE PRESIDENT AND 
VICE-PRESIDENT 

Section I. Term: Election: Qualifications: Salary: Oath of 

Office 

1. The Executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of 
four years, and together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same 
term, be elected as follows: 

2. Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature 
thereof may direct, a number of Electors, equal to the whole number 
of Senators and Representatives, to which the state may be entitled in 
the Congress; but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an 
office of trust or profit, under the United States, shall be appointed 
an Elector. 

3. [The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by 
ballot for two persons, of whom one, at least, shall not be an inhabitant 
of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all 
the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list 
they shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the 
Government of the United States, directed to the President of 
the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and 
the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest 
number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than 
one, who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, 
then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose, by 
ballot, one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, 
then, from the five highest on the list, the said House shall, in like 
manner, choose the President. But in choosing the President, the 
votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state 
having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member 
or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the 
states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice 
of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of 



584 Problems of American Democracy 

the Electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain 
two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them, 
by ballot, the Vice-President.] 1 

4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the Electors, 
and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be 
the same throughout the United States. 

5. No person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the 
United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall 
be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be 
eligible to that office, who shall not have attained to the age of thirty- 
five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United 
States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his 
death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of 
the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the 
Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resigna- 
tion or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring 
what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act 
accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be 
elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a 
compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during 
the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not 
receive, within that period, any other emolument from the United 
States, or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the 
following oath or affirmation : 

9. "I do solemly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute 
the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of 
my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the 
United States." 

Section 2. President's Executive Powers 

1. The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the army and 
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, 
when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require 

1 Superseded by the Twelfth Amendment. 



Constitution of the United States 585 

the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive 
departments upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective 
offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for 
offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present 
concur; and he shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate, shall appoint' ambassadors, other public ministers, 
and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers 
of the United States whose appointments are not herein otherwise 
provided for, and which shall be established by law; but the Con- 
gress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as 
they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in 
the heads of departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions 
which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Section 3. President's Executive Powers {continued) 

1. He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information of 
the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on 
extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and 
in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of 
adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he 
shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall com- 
mission all the officers of the United States. 

Section 4. Impeachment 

1. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and 
conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misde- 
meanors. 



586 Problems of American Democracy 

ARTICLE III 
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

Section 1. Courts: Terms of Office 

1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may 
from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the 
Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good 
behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a 
compensation which shall not be diminished during their continuance 
in office. 

Section 2. Jurisdiction 

1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, 
arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all 
cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to 
all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies 
to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies between 
two or more states, between a state and citizens of another state, 1 
between citizens of different states, between citizens of the same state 
claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, 
or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and 
consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme 
Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before 
mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both 
as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations 
as the Congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be 
by jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said 
crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within 
any state the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may 
by law have directed. 

1 Modified by the Eleventh Amendment. 



Constitution of the United States 587 

Section 3. Treason 

1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying 
war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid 
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the 
testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in 
open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of 
treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or 
forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV 
RELATIONS OF STATES 
Section 1. Public Records 

1 . Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the 
Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner inVhich such 
acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section 2. Rights in One State of Citizens of Another State 

1 . The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and 
immunities of citizens in the several states. 1 

2. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other 
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall, 
on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, 
be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the 
crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or 
regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall 
be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor 
may be due. 

Section 3. New States: Territories 

1. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; 
but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of 
1 Compare Fourteenth Amendment. 



588 Problems of American Democracy 

any other state, nor any state be formed by the junction of two or 
more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures 
of the states concerned as well as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all 
needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property 
belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution 
shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, 
or of any particular state. 

Section 4. Protection to States by the Nation 

I. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the 
executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic 
violence. 

ARTICLE V 

AMENDMENT 

I. The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 
application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall 
call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, 
shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, 
when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, 
or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other 
mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress: provided that 
no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand 
eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and 
fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first Article; and that no 
state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in 
the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI 
NATIONAL DEBTS: SUPREMACY OF NATIONAL LAW: 

OATH 

I. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United 
States under this Constitution as under the Confederation. 



Constitution of the United States 589 

2 . This Constitution, and the laws of the United S tates which shall 
be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be 
made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, 
anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary 
notwithstanding. 

3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the 
members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial 
officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be 
bound, by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no 
religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or 
public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII 
ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSTITUTION 

1. The ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be 
sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the 
states so ratifying the same. 

AMENDMENTS 1 

ARTICLE I 

FREEDOM OF RELIGION, OF SPEECH, AND OF THE 
PRESS: RIGHT OF PETITION 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to 
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II 
RIGHT TO KEEP ARMS 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 
infringed. 

1 The first ren Amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were adopted in 1791. 



590 Problems of American Democracy 

ARTICLE III 
QUARTERING OF SOLDIERS IN PRIVATE HOUSES 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without 
the consent of the owner; nor, in time of war, but in a manner to be 
prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV 

SEARCH WARRANTS 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be 
violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, sup- 
ported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to 
be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V 

CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital,- or otherwise 
infamous, crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand 
jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia, when in actual service, in time of war, or public danger; nor 
shall any person be subject, for the same offence, to be twice put in 
jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, 
to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or 
property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be 
taken for public use, without just compensation. 1 

ARTICLE VI 

CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS {continued) 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a 
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall 
have been previously ascertained by law; and to be informed of the 
nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in 
his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence. 

1 See Amendment XIV, Sec. i, which extends part of this restriction to the States. 



Constitution of the United States 591 

ARTICLE VII 
JURY TRIAL IN CIVIL CASES 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no 
fact, tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of 
the United States than according to the rules of the common law. 

ARTICLE VIII 

EXCESSIVE PUNISHMENTS 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX 

UNENUMERATED RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be 
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X 

POWERS RESERVED TO STATES 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 
nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respect- 
ively, or to the people. 

ARTICLE XIi 

SUITS AGAINST STATES 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to 
extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against 
one of the United States by citizens of another state,, or by citizens 
or subjects of any foreign state. 

ARTICLE XII 

ELECTION OF PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT 

1. The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by 
ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall 
1 Adopted in 179S to protect the sovereignty of the States. 



59 2 Problems of American Democracy 

not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall 
name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct 
ballots the person voted for as Vice-President; and they shall make 
distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons 
voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, 
which lists they shall sign, and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the 
seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President 
of the Senate; the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of 
the Senate and the House of Representatives, open all the certificates, 
and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the greatest 
number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no 
person have such a majority, then, from the persons having the highest 
numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as Presi- 
dent, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by 
ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall 
be taken by states, the representation from each state having one 
vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members 
from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall 
be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall 
not choose a President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve 
upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the 
Vice-President shall act as President, as in case of the death, or other 
constitutional disability, of the President. 1 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-Presi- 
dent, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have a 
majority, then, from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate 
shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall 
consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators; a majority of 
the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 1 

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of Presi- 
dent shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States, 

1 Adopted in 1S04, superseding Article II, Sec x. 



Constitution of the United States 593 

ARTICLE XIII 1 

SLAVERY 

Section 1. Abolition of Slavery 

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment 
for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall 
exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdic- 
tion. 

Section 2. Power of Congress 

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV 2 

CIVIL RIGHTS: APPORTIONMENT OF REPRESENTA- 
TIVES: POLITICAL DISABILITIES: PUBLIC DEBT 

Section 1. Civil Rights 

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject 
to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of 
the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any 
law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of 
the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, 
liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any 
person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Apportionment of Representatives 

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states 
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of 
persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the 
right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and 
Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the 
executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legis- 
lature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, 
being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or 

1 Adopted in 1865. 
= Adopted in 1868. 

MM 



594 Problems of American Democracy 

in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other 
crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the pro- 
portion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole 
number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state. 

Section 3. Political Disabilities 

No person shall be a Senator or Represenative in Congress, or 
elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or 
military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having 
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of 
the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an 
executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of 
the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion 
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. 
But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove 
such disability. 

Section 4. Public Debt 

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by 
law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties 
for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be 
questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume 
or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or 
rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or 
emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and 
claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Section 5. Powers of Congress 

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legisla- 
tion, the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV 1 

RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE 

Section 1. Right of Negro to Vote 

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 
denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account 
of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

1 Adopted in 1870. 



Constitution of the United States 595 

Section 2. Power of Congress 

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. 

ARTICLE XVI 1 

INCOME TAX 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, 
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the 
several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

ARTICLE XVII 2 
SENATE: ELECTION: VACANCIES 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators 
from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each 
Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the 
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of 
the state legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the 
Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of 
election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any 
state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appoint- 
ment until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature 
may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election 
or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the 
Constitution. 

ARTICLE XVIII 3 

NATIONAL PROHIBITION 

Section i — After one year from the ratification of this article the 
manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the 
importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United 
States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage 
purposes is hereby prohibited. 

Adopted in 1913. 

2 Adopted in 1013. 

3 Adopted in 1919. 



596 Problems of American Democracy 

Section 2 — The Congress and the several States shall have con- 
current power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

Section 3 — This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have 
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures 
of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven 
years of the date of the submission hereof to the States by Congress. 

ARTICLE XIX l 
WOMAN SUFFRAGE 

Section i — The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
account of sex. 

Section 2 — Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

1 Adopted in 1920. 



INDEX 



Accessibility, 15. 

Adjustment, 4 et seq., 540, 567. 

Agricultural resources, 197, 198. 

Almshouse, 452 et seq. 

Altruism, 566. 

Amendments, 71. 

American Federation of Labor, 360 

seq. 
American state, 57 et seq. 
Appropriation bills, 93. 
Asiatic immigration, 172 et seq. 
Australian ballot, 101. 

B 

Ballot, 101. 
Banking: 

Federal Reserve Act, 312 et seq. 

National Banking Act, 311 et seq. 

state institutions, 314. 
Barter, 304, 305. 
Bill drafting, 91 et seq. 
Bill of Rights, 71. 
Bimetallism, 310 et seq. 
Birth rates, 150, 151. 
Blacklists, 372. 
Blind, 500 et seq. 
Bonds, 254. 
Boycotts, 372. 

British cabinet government, 79. 
Budgets: 

family, 421 et seq. 

system, 93. 
Business: 

enterpriser, 248, 249. 

organization, 248 et seq. 



Cabinet government, 78, 79. 

Capital, 224 et seq., 234 et seq., 248 el 

seq. 
Capital punishment, 495. 
Charity, 445 et seq 



Checks and balances, 77. 
Child: 

labor, 386 et seq. 

offenders, 496 et seq. 
Church, 567 et seq. 
Citizenship: 

duties, 85 et seq. 

in territories, 105. 
City: 

charters, 128. 

congestion, 118 et seq. 

distribution, 112, 113. 

early conditions, ine( seq. 

franchises, 136, 137. 

government, 1 2 7 et seq. 

growth, 1 1 2 et seq. 

health, 121 et seq. 

legal character, 127. 

manager, 131. 

planning, 114, 115. 

political corruption, 129. 

state, 51. 

utilities, 134. 
Civil Service Reform, 101. 
Clan, 50. 

Clayton Act, 268, 359. 
Climatic influences, 19 et seq. 
Closed shop, 368. 
Collective bargaining, 367 et seq. 
Commercial expansion, 298 et seq. 
Commission government, 130. 
Commissions on industrial relations, 375 

et seq. 
Committees of Congress, 91. 
Competition: 

effects, 35. 

wastes, 347. 
Compulsory arbitration, 377. 
Congestion, 1 1 8 et seq. 
Congressional government, 78, 79. 
Conservation: 

human, 385 et seq 

natural resources, 208 et seq. 



597 



598 



Index 



Consumers' League, 372, 390. 
Constitutional: 

amendments, 71. 

guarantees, 71. 
Cooperation, 6, 35, 37, 236 et seq., 371 

ci seq., 380 e2 se^. 
Cooperative movement, 380 et seq. 
Corporation: 

advantages, 250, 251. 

character, 250. 

organization, 252, 253. 

promotion, 251 et seq. 

securities, 253, 254. 

social dangers, 255 et seq. 
Country life, 1 24. 
Courts, 77. 

Court of Industrial Relations, 377. 
Crime, 464 et seq. 
Crippled, 505 et seq. 
Crowd, 29 et seq. 
Currency, 304 et seq. 
Customs, 24 et seq. 



D 

Deaf, 503 et seq. 
Death rates, 153 et seq. 
Defectives, 499 et seq. 
Delinquents, 464 et seq. 
Dependents, 429 et seq. 
Direct election of senators, 100. 
Direct primaries, 103. 
Distribution of wealth, 330 et seq. 
Division of labor, 237 et seq. 
Division of powers of government, 76. 
Divorce, 525 et seq. 
Dynamic society, 2. 

E 

Education, 543 et seq. 
English parliament, 78, 7g. 
Enterpriser, 248, 249. 
Environment: 

American, 194 et seq. 

physical, 13 et seq 

social, 24 et seq. 
Epileptics, 509, 510. 
Esch-Cummins Act, 281. 
Excise tax, 323. 
Executive, 76 et seq. 
Expansion of nation, 95 et seq., 104 et seq. 



Exploitation, 106. 
Exports, 298 et seq. 
Express companies, 283. 



Factors in production, 224. 
Factory system, 231, 232. 
Family, 518 et seq. 
Family budgets, 421 et seq. 
Fatigue, 364. 

Federal Reserve System, 312 et seq. 
Federal Trade Commission, 268, 269. 
Feeble-minded, 310 et seq. 
Folkways, 25 et seq. 
Forest conservation, 211 et seq. 
Franchises, 136 et seq. 
French settlers, 63, 64. 
Frontier, 96. 

Functions of government, 73, 74, 82 et 
seq. 



Gas and electric service, 135. 
General property tax, 326, 327. 
German immigrants, 159. 
Government: 

city, 124 et seq. 

general functions, 73. 

national, 82 et seq., 87 et seq. 
Group: 

life, 34 et seq. 

mind, 24 et seq. 

standards, 562 et seq. 
Guarantees of constitution, 71. 
Guilds, 229, 230. 
Guild socialism, 351. 

H 

Health, 1 2 1 et seq. 
Heredity, 9, 473, 512, 574. 
Housing conditions, 118 et seq. 



Immigration: 

Asiatic, 172. 

causes, 158. 

distribution, 167, 168. 

early groups, 159, 160. 

effects, 168 et seq. 

later groups, 160 et seq. 

restrictions, 174 et seq. 
Imperialism, 104 et seq. 



Index 



599 



Imports, 298 et seq. 
Income: 

earned and unearned, 338, 339. 

national, 330 et seq. 

tax, 324. 
Independence, 66. 
Indian, 191, 192. 
Industrial: 

accidents, 401 et seq. 

arbitration, 377. 

conflict, 375 et seq. 

education, 549 et seq. 

management, 246, 247. 

organization, 561 et seq. 

revolution, 223 et seq. 

society, 224 et seq. 

Workers of the World, 361 et seq. 
Inequality, 347, 348. 
Inflation, 307, 308. 
Inheritance tax, 327, 328. 
Initiative, 102. 
Insurance, social, 410 et seq. 
Injunction, 374. 
Insane, 507 et seq. 
Institutions, 44, 52 et seq. 
Insular possessions, 105. 
Interest, 333. 

International trade, 286 et seq. 
Interstate Commerce Act, 277, 278. 
Interstate Commerce Commission, 278- 
Inventions, 40 et seq., 225. 
Irish immigration, 159. 
Isolation, 16. 
Italian immigration, 162. 



Judiciary, 77. 

Jury trial, 482 et seq. 

Juvenile courts, 496. 



K 

Knights of Labor, 360. 



Laissez-faire, 84. 

Labor organizations, 357 et seq. 

Large scale production, 243 et seq. 

Latin America, 65. 

Law, 54, 466- 

Law making, 91 et seq. 

Local government, 73. 

Lockouts, 373. 



M 
Machinery, inventions, 230 et seq. 
Maladjustment, 4. 
Malthusian theory, 144. 
Mandatories, 106. 
Manorial system, 229. 
Manufacturing: 

early American, 233. 

changes in, 230 et seq~ 
Marriage, 521 et seq. 
Medieval cities, in. 
Mental defectives, 507 et seq. 
Middle colonies, 62 et seq. 
Military service, 86. 
Minerals: 

conservation, 214 et seq. 

wealth, 199 et seq. 
Minimum standards, 423 et seq. 
Money, 304 et seq. 
Monopoly, 261 et seq. 
Monroe Doctrine, 105, 106. 
Morality, 560 et seq. 
Municipal: 

functions, 132 et seq. 

government, 1 29 et seq. 

N 
National: 

banks, 311 et seq. 

expansion, 95 et seq. 

expenditures, 3 2 1 et seq. 

government, 82 et seq. 

income, 330 et seq. 

problems, 74. 

state, 52, 46 et seq., 64 et seq. 
Natural: 

resources, 194 et seq. 

selection, 36. 
Neanderthal man, 38. 
Negro, 179 etseq. 
New England colonies, 61 et seq. 

O 

Occupational risks, 406 et seq. 
Open shop, 368. 
Organized charity, 457 et seq. 
Output, 366. 
Overcapitalization, 256. 

P 

Pace setting, 366. 

Parliamentary government, 78, 79, 91 
et seq. 



6oo 



Index 



Parole, 494. 
Partnership, 249, 250. 
Party: 

caucus, 91. 

platforms, 89. 
Pauperism, 432. 
Penology, 479 et seq. 
Physical environment: 

effects, 13 et seq. 

of America, 194 et seq. 
Police power of state, 83. 
Political parties, 88 et seq. 
Population: 

distribution, 148 et seq. 

law of, 144. 

modern increase, 142 et seq. 

vital statistics, 150 et seq. 
Poverty, 429 et seq. 
President, 76 et seq. 
Prices, 306, 307. 
Primaries, 103. 
Primitive man, 38. 
Prisons, 488 et seq. 
Profits, 335. 

Profit sharing, 379 et seq. 
Progress, 7, 570 et seq. 
Promoter, 251 el seq. 
Property rights, 54. 
Property tax, 326, 327. 
Public: 

education, 543 et seq. 

health, 121 et seq. 

opinion, 87. 

ownership, 137 et seq. 

utilities, 133 et seq., 273. 
Puritan element, 61. 

R 

Race: 

origins, 180. 

problems, 179 et seq. 
Railroads: 

accidents, 408. 

growth, 274 et seq. 

labor board, 281. 

rates, 282. 

regulation, 277 et seq. 
Rainfall, 20 et seq. 
Real wages, 420. 
Recall of judicial decisions, 103. 
Reclamation, 215 et seq. 
Referendum, 102. ■ 



Regulation, governmental, 84. 

Relief, 454 et seq. 

Rent, 333, 334- 

Representative government, 91 et seq. 

Rochdale Cooperative plan, 381. 

Rural conditions, 124 et seq. 

Russian Jewish immigration, 164. 

S 
Sabotage, 362. 

Scandinavian immigration, 160. 
Schools, 543 et seq. 
Scientific management, 245, 246, 405 et 

seq. 
Scotch-Irish immigration, 63. 
Secret ballot, 101. 
Securities, 253 et seq. 
Senators, direct election, 100. 
Separation of powers, 76. 
Sherman Law, 268, 279. 
Shop committees, 378. 
Short ballot, 101. 
Sickness, 41 1 et seq. 
Single tax, 342 et seq. 
Slav immigration, 163. 
Slavery, 54, 181 et seq. 
Social: 

control, 31, 84, S5. 

environment, 24 et seq. 

evolution, 35 et seq. 

ideal, 557. 

institutions, 44. 

insurance, 410 et seq. 

morality, 560 et seq. 

progress, 570 et seq. 

standards, 467, 470. 
Socialism-, 345 et seq. 
Southern colonies, 58 et seq. 
Spanish war possessions, 105. 
Speaker of House of Representatives, 91.. 
Speculation, 257. 
Spoils system, 101. 
Standards of living, 417 et seq.. 
State: 

American, 58 et seq. 

problems, 75. 

social institution, 46 et seq. 
Static society, 2. 
Stocks, 253, 254. 
Stock exchange, 256, 257^ 
Stock watering, 256. 
Strikes, 373. 



Index 



601 



Struggle for existence, 35. 

Suffrage, 09. 

Suggestion, 29. 

Supreme Court decisions, it 

Sweat shop, 395 et seq. 

Syndicalism, 362. 



Tariff, 290 et seq. 
Taxation: 

function of state, 86. 

federal, 321 et seq. 

increase, 31S. 

kinds, 318, 319. 

local, 326. 

principles, 319, 320. 

state, 325. 
Telegraph and telephone, 283. 
Temperature, 19 et seq. 
Tenements, 118. 
Trade unions, 358 et seq. 
Tradition, 24 et seq. 
Transportation: 

municipal, 136. 

national, 272 et seq., 201 et s 
Tribe, 51. 
Trusts, 264 et seq. 



U 

Unemployment, 402 et seq. 
Union: 

of colonies, 67. 

of labor, 357 et seq. 
Urban growth, 109 et seq. 
Utopia, 2. 

V 
Value in exchange, 240. 
Vital statistics, 150 et seq. 
Vocational education, 549 et seq. 

W 

Wages, 335 et seq., 363, 364, 396, 420. 

Walking delegates, 367. 

Wants, 419. 

War, 52 et seq. 

Water resources, 201 et seq. 

Water transportation, 283 et seq. 

Water supply of cities, 134. 

Weather influences, 21. 

Welfare work, 397, 398. 

Westward movement, 95 et seq. 

Woman suffrage, 99. 

Woman's movement, 536. 

Women in industry, 392 et seq. 

Working conditions, 364 et seq., 36S. 

Workmen's compensation, 410. 



